Credit: Imago / Premier Sports

Harri Burton

Mon 9 March 2026 13:00, UK

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Don Robertson stopped emotions bubbling over after an off-the-ball incident involving Celtic‘s Auston Trusty against Rangers.

That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that the Hoops’ defender was caught “cheating” at Ibrox on Sunday, 8 March.

Just before the hour mark, Trusty went to ground, writhing in pain after a clash with Youssef Chermiti, only for replays to show very minimal contact between the duo, and the former being accused of playacting.

As Robertson attempted to understand what had happened, a group of players began swarming the “hurt” player, and it was just one contentious decision as Rangers and Celtic clashed at Ibrox.

Auston Trusty in ‘unacceptable’ scenes at Ibrox

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former referee said: “It’s cheating. It’s an action that nobody wants to see: a player going down to get an opponent sent off. It’s unacceptable. 

“It’s excellent refereeing from Robertson, getting straight in at the beginning of a mass confrontation, with the assistant helping. There’s no overreaction. 

“But these are the things happening in football that are frankly disgraceful. Let’s have a degree of respect for other players. No football fan wants to see this level of nonsense. 

“In fairness to the player accused, he didn’t overreact. Some suddenly think that, if you think I’ve hit you, have one for real.” 

What did Martin O’Neill say about the full-time scenes?

Rangers and Celtic could both be punished, Hackett told Football Insider, after both sets of supporters stormed onto the pitch following the full-time whistle.

O’Neill and his players were seen taking selfies with these fans, having just beaten the Gers on penalties to reach the Scottish Cup semi-finals, even sweeter against their biggest rivals.

Speaking after the game, the manager said: “It’s a big derby game, and I think there was a lot of jubilation at us winning. The fans spilt over, and I suppose it is very difficult to quell that.

“As we were making our way back, there was some kind of fracas, and someone had tried to get on the field. It’s unfortunate [scenes at the end] but hopefully it doesn’t dilute the performance in terms of character.

The Scottish FA has already gotten involved, likely to open an investigation into what happened at Ibrox, and it adds a sour note to what was an exciting game of football between the rivals.