Some rivalries simmer. This one explodes. In a city where loyalty is inherited and grudges are never forgotten, it takes very little to light the fuse. Every comment is dissected, every opinion weaponised, and every perceived slight stored away for the next battle. Respect is demanded, not requested — and when it feels absent, the backlash is immediate and ferocious.
There are places where football is entertainment. Glasgow has never been one of them. Here, identity is wrapped in colours, stitched into memory, and defended with relentless passion. Words travel fast, but outrage travels faster. And when a former figure from one side questions a key figure from the other, the reaction is never going to be calm or measured. It was always going to be combustible.
That’s exactly what has happened after Danny Röhl launched a furious defence of Nicolas Raskin following controversial remarks from Martin O’Neill.
The Rangers boss did not attempt diplomacy. He went straight on the offensive, making it clear he believed the comments about Raskin crossed a line and disrespected both the player and the club.
“People who don’t watch him every week shouldn’t pretend they understand his value,” Röhl said. “Inside this club, we know exactly what Nicolas brings — and we don’t need lectures from the outside.”
O’Neill’s original analysis suggested Raskin’s influence in the biggest derby moments could be questioned — a view that detonated among Rangers supporters, who saw it as a thinly veiled attempt to undermine a player they see as the heartbeat of their midfield.
Röhl’s response only poured fuel on the fire.
“It’s easy to talk from a studio. It’s harder to do the work on the pitch. Nicolas does the hard work — every single game,” he added.
The tone was unmistakable. Protective. Defiant. And loaded with the kind of edge that guarantees the other side won’t stay quiet for long.
Inside the Rangers camp, the message is that criticism from across the divide is not just ignored — it is stored as motivation. Raskin, teammates say, has reacted with intensity rather than irritation, training with visible bite in the days since the comments surfaced.
“Doubt him if you want,” one dressing room voice said. “He’ll just run harder and tackle harder. That’s who he is.”
For Rangers supporters, Röhl’s stance has been celebrated as a manager “defending his own” in the face of what they see as classic Old Firm mind games. Many believe O’Neill’s remarks were designed to plant seeds of doubt before crucial fixtures.
“When they start talking about our best players, you know they’re nervous,” one fan wrote online.
But Celtic supporters have hit back just as strongly, arguing that pundits are entitled to opinions and accusing Röhl of overreacting to fair analysis.
“If he can’t handle scrutiny, maybe he’s not as big a player as Rangers think,” another fan responded.
The result is a full-blown verbal brawl that has spilled far beyond the original comments. What began as studio analysis has turned into a badge-of-honour moment for Rangers fans and a lightning rod for Celtic supporters who see the backlash as thin-skinned defensiveness.
Röhl, however, shows no sign of backing down.
“Strong players don’t hide. Strong teams don’t look for excuses. We face everything head-on — including opinions we think are wrong,” he said.
That line alone has guaranteed the noise will only grow louder. In a rivalry where emotion already runs at boiling point, this latest exchange has added another layer of hostility before a ball has even been kicked.
Raskin now finds himself at the centre of the storm — praised fiercely on one side, questioned loudly on the other. Exactly the kind of pressure cooker environment that defines this fixture and forges reputations for those brave enough to embrace it.
“Pressure doesn’t scare us,” Röhl insisted. “It reminds us who we are.”
Whether that message inspires or inflames depends entirely on which side of Glasgow you ask. One thing is certain: this war of words has guaranteed that when these teams meet again, the temperature will be far beyond normal rivalry levels.
