Callum Mcgregor: Ibrox fightback and a pending SFA enquiry as the run-in tightens
callum mcgregor believes Celtic showed the character and personality to fight back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Rangers at Ibrox, a result that has sharpened the title run-in and left a refereeing controversy primed for formal review.
What Happened at Ibrox? Callum Mcgregor’s Ibrox Team Talk That Sparked Fightback
Rangers opened the scoring with a brace from 21-year-old Portuguese striker Youssef Chermiti and looked to have put the match beyond reach in the first half. Celtic’s response intensified after the break: left-back Kieran Tierney headed home in the 56th minute, and substitute Reo Hatate produced a dramatic last-gasp leveller after Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland initially saved Hatate’s spot-kick and then the rebound attempt.
McGregor singled out the team’s resilience, noting that recent late goals against Dundee, Livingston and Kilmarnock underline a pattern of late impact. He described the Ibrox performance as demonstrating the character the side will need in the remaining fixtures and flagged the psychological message that such comebacks can send to rivals.
What Forces Are Driving This Moment?
The match matters on multiple fronts. On the pitch, the result keeps pressure on the leaders: with nine fixtures remaining, Rangers sit behind the Edinburgh leaders by six points and two ahead of Celtic, who have a game in hand away to Aberdeen. Off the pitch, crowd dynamics and competition rules play a role: a couple of thousand Celtic supporters celebrated at full-time at Ibrox, and under competition rules around 7, 500 travelling supporters will be accommodated in the Broomloan stand for the upcoming Scottish Cup quarter-final tie at the same ground.
callum mcgregor framed the team’s response as part of a broader mentality: “It’s almost like a siege mentality for us, ” he said, urging unity and a focus on the internal work that has delivered positive results since recent changes to the coaching setup. He argued that players must block out external noise and channel the group’s desire to win through the remaining run of fixtures.
A further force complicating the picture is refereeing scrutiny. While attention centred on the penalty ultimately converted by Hatate, ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett says there will be an enquiry within the Scottish FA into an earlier incident the referee missed: Dujon Sterling appeared to grab Sebastian Tounekti’s shirt and bundle him over, and Hackett says Collum will be looking into that moment. That potential review adds procedural weight to an already charged fixture list.
What Happens Next?
The immediate trajectory is clear: both teams head into the final stretch with intensified stakes—Celtic with a game in hand and a cup tie at the same opponent, Rangers chasing leaders in the league. Practical implications split across sporting, psychological and administrative lines.
- Sporting: Celtic’s ability to salvage late points reinforces their position as contenders; Rangers’ early dominance shows they remain potent.
- Psychological: The siege mentality McGregor described may harden team unity and focus across fixtures.
- Administrative: An SFA enquiry would place refereeing decisions under formal scrutiny and could influence how similar incidents are handled going forward.
Who wins and who loses in the short term depends on outcomes across the next fixtures. Celtic can convert resilience into momentum, while opponents may view late comebacks as evidence of vulnerability if they allow leads to slip. The prospect of an SFA enquiry places refereeing under the spotlight, creating an additional layer of consequence for match officials and clubs alike.
For readers tracking the title race and the narratives that will define it: watch how Celtic translate the Ibrox comeback into results in the remaining nine fixtures, how the upcoming cup tie influences momentum, and whether the Scottish FA follows through on the enquiry that Keith Hackett outlines. Above all, the mood and messages from inside the dressing room — encapsulated by callum mcgregor — are likely to be decisive as the campaign reaches its climax. callum mcgregor
