Alex Rae has said that society is to blame for Rangers not giving Celtic a guard of honour at Ibrox on Sunday.
Celtic won their eighth title in a row when they beat Aberdeen 3-0 last weekend, and they play Rangers in the latest Old Firm clash at Ibrox on Sunday.
However, according to the Scottish Sun, the decision has been made not to give the champions a guard of honour and Rae has said while it’s the right decision, he hopes the simmering feud calms next season.
“It’s the right call by Rangers, but it’s also time for people to calm down about it all,” former Rangers player Rae said.
“I think relations have fractured between the Old Firm clubs in recent times. They really have the look of polar opposites to them.
“There are sections of society now who are not just happy to celebrate success. They want to rub it into their rivals at every turn and it’s quite pathetic.
“Rangers are within their rights not to have a guard of honour. There are people in society who are simply waiting to be offended.
“I actually think this issue is more indicative of where we are as a society today. Things have changed dramatically in recent years.”
OPINION
It does seem like the rivalry between Rangers and Celtic has taken a turn for the worse recently. There won’t be many Celtic fans at the game on Sunday and, while there’s nothing riding on the match, we’re not expecting it to be played in a friendly spirit. All eyes will be on Scott Brown and Alfredo Morelos (if Steven Gerrard decides to start the striker) and a red card has to be a good bet ahead of the game. It’s a shame that Rangers couldn’t maintain their challenge all the way to the end of the season as this could feasibly have been the title-decider. And, while a game like this needs no extra motivation, it would have been an incredible showcase for Scottish football. As it is, we’ll hope that the game is remembered for its football rather than anything that shows what’s wrong with the game.