The reason behind Derek McInnes' heated touchline tussle with the Celtic dugout during the Old Firm clash has been revealed.
It centred around the technical area and the behaviour of members of Martin O’Neill’s Celtic coaching staff during the match.
At the previous meeting at Ibrox, in which Rangers defeated the Hoops 3-0, Shaun Maloney had repeatedly been coming out of the technical area, while Mark Fotheringham was also regularly voicing his frustration towards the officials.
That had already caught the attention of the Rangers bench, with the fourth official asked before the game to keep a close eye on the dugout ahead of the rematch at Parkhead just seven days later.
However, it took only a few minutes for the situation to develop again.
McInnes and Celtic coach clash
Maloney was soon out of the technical area once more, while Fotheringham was making his feelings known to the officials shortly after Celtic defender Austin Trusty’s disallowed goal.
The situation quickly became a source of frustration for the Rangers bench and tensions spilled over between the two dugouts.
McInnes became involved in the heated exchange as the issue over Celtic's technical area presence escalated.
What appeared to be a spontaneous touchline confrontation therefore had been due to an issue which had already been identified before kick-off.
The technical area is restricted to authorised coaching staff, with those inside expected to remain within the designated area during play.
Rangers win back-to-back Old Firms
The confrontation added another layer of drama to an already fiercely contested Old Firm encounter, with the two coaching staffs becoming embroiled in a heated exchange on the touchline.
Rangers would go on to win the match 1-0, thanks to a first half goal from Ryan Naderi, reacting to a rebounded Kim Min-Su effort.
It would see the Gers complete back-to-back wins over their rivals and cut the gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership to just two points heading into the recent international break.
A total of 13 Ibrox stars were involved with their national sides over an extended three-week period, but Rangers are set to return to domestic club action this Saturday as Neil McCann’s Kilmarnock visit Govan.
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