Ian Wright has revealed a confrontation with a Rangers fan during his time at Celtic convinced him to lock himself up in his hotel on Old Firm derby week.
The Arsenal legend had a short stint with the Parkhead giants in the final year of his professional career between October 1999 and February 2000, scoring three times in eight appearances in all competitions.
Wright came off the bench in the Hoops’ infamous Scottish Cup defeat to Inverness but also played in two clashes with Rangers in that season, starting in a 4-2 defeat at Ibrox and coming off the bench in a 1-1 home draw a few weeks later.
And despite having security who looked after him during his short stay in Glasgow, the former goal machine says he decided to remain indoors on derby week to avoid the intimidating atmosphere on the streets.
Speaking on the Stick to Football Podcast – brought to you by Sky Bet – alongside Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Jill Scott and special guest Duncan Ferguson, he said: “When I was at Celtic, I had to have minders for the Rangers games, it was quite intimidating.
“It made me think, ‘Really? What do I need minders for?’
“I remember one time I was coming out and someone slammed onto the bonnet of the car shouting ‘NO SURRENDER!
“So I didn’t come out of the hotel after
“I just thought ‘what’s the point’ as you don’t know who you are going to bump into.”
Ex Rangers striker Ferguson admits he was heavily scrutinised on and off the pitch after landing a big £4million move to Ibrox from Dundee United in 1993 – which was a British transfer record at the time.
He added: “Minders needed to always be with me whilst I was at Rangers.
“It was tough – if you had to go to the supermarket to buy some aftershave or a Valentine’s card, I had to take a couple of minders with me.
“It’s because I’d had a few assaults against me and they knew that if I got another, I was going to go to prison as I was on probation for the assaults I had accumulated.
“As it happens, I broke my probation on the football pitch.
“It’d never happened before, and it’s never happened again, but I got put in prison for that incident on the football pitch, then they changed the rules as it was wrong what they did to me.”
Ian Wright reveals ‘intimidating’ Rangers fan encounter during Celtic stint kept him inside during Old Firm week
