Rangers winger Vaclav Cerny given formal warning after Celtic water bottle incident

Rangers winger Vaclav Cerny has been given a formal warning about his future conduct after his goal celebrations during the recent Old Firm derby.

Cerny was on the substitutes bench when Hamza Igamane scored what was to be the winner for Rangers. The Czech attacker raced along the touchline and sprayed Celtic fans with a water bottle as he celebrated.

Police Scotland opened an investigation into the incident but decided to take no further action, while both clubs’ managers had their say on the matter.

Rangers manager Barry Ferguson said he would never criticise a player for celebrating but Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers accused Cerny of “a lack of respect”.

The Scottish FA has now warned the player about his future conduct, contacting the player formally after an investigation by compliance officer Martin Black.

Speaking to Czech publication Sport last month, Cerny said he had been caught up in the excitement of the moment.

“I don’t want to say anything about it,” he said. “I can’t.

“The stands are close, I didn’t even know what was happening at that moment. I just ran. It seems a bit absurd to me, it’s a derby.”

Celtic boss Rodgers was critical of the incident, which took place in the first Old Firm game to have away fans returning to the stands.

“I understand the jubilation, and Rangers players have every right to celebrate with their supporters,” Rodgers said. “You come to Celtic Park, like it would be if we go to Ibrox, you win a game of that magnitude then you celebrate.

“But not in that way.

“It’s disrespect, isn’t it?

“It’s a lack of respect if a player runs up a touchline and he’s squirting a water bottle in a supporter’s face.

“I certainly wouldn’t want my players to do that.”

“In the main, the players do [behave] and listen, it works both ways, and there’s a lot comes into players as well from the stand to coaches, managers and players.

“But I think we all know there’s a line we shouldn’t cross.

“It’s an amazing fixture and an emotive game, and I thought it was great to have the fans back in, and that gave it an extra bit as well.

“But there are lines, and you can’t antagonise, especially in this fixture, because that can lead to an issue.”

Ferguson defended his player from the critics, saying that celebrating goals was important.

“The reaction was that he’s excited because his teammate has just scored what turns out to be the winning goal,” the manager said.

“I would have a problem with my players or my staff sat in their seat and never saying a word.

“I want to see players or staff celebrate.

“Why do we play football? We play football to win games, and when we win games, I want to see my players and my staff celebrate alongside our supporters.

“Sometimes you get a wee bit overexcited, and I’ve no issue with that. As I said, he’s just overexcited with his teammate Hamza scoring a goal to get us three points where we’ve not been able to do that for five years, which is a long time.”