Celtic Fans Were Vilified – Will Aberdeen’s Pitch Invasion Get The Same Treatment?

Celtic Fans Were Vilified – Will Aberdeen’s Pitch Invasion Get The Same Treatment?

Aberdeen supporters spilled onto the Rugby Park pitch after their dramatic penalty-shootout victory over Kilmarnock.

So now Scottish football has a very simple test.

Will Aberdeen supporters receive anything remotely close to the treatment Celtic fans received after the pitch invasions against Hearts and Rangers?

There has already been criticism of the scenes at Rugby Park, and rightly so. Supporters are not supposed to enter the playing surface.

But that is not the argument.

The argument is consistency.

Celtic fans faced days of outrage

When Celtic supporters entered the pitch following the victory over Hearts, the reaction quickly became much bigger than the pitch invasion itself.

The incident generated days of debate, condemnation and serious allegations about what supposedly happened to Hearts players.

Pat Nevin even claimed he had witnessed Lawrence Shankland being punched.

The BBC later upheld complaints about that commentary after concluding that the claim failed its accuracy standards.

That should matter when we look back at the scale of the reaction Celtic supporters faced.

Now Aberdeen fans have also entered the field to celebrate a victory.

Will the same language be used?

Will pundits spend days discussing Aberdeen supporters?

Will newspapers run repeated stories?

Will radio phone-ins devote hours to the incident?

Or will this simply disappear from the headlines almost immediately?

Aberdeen pitch invasion highlights the Ibrox difference

There is also an important distinction between what happened at Rugby Park and what happened at Ibrox.

When Celtic supporters entered the pitch after defeating Rangers on penalties, they were celebrating.

Rangers supporters then came onto the field from the opposite end and confrontations followed.

That completely changed the nature of the incident.

And Saturday night at Rugby Park highlights exactly why.

Aberdeen supporters entered the field.

Kilmarnock supporters did not then pour onto the pitch and charge towards them.

They did not treat Aberdeen supporters entering the field as justification to confront them.

That is how it should be.

Because no supporter entering a football pitch gives opposition supporters the right to charge onto the field, seek confrontation or become involved with opposing players and staff.

If Aberdeen fans entering the pitch at Rugby Park does not suddenly give Kilmarnock supporters the right to storm the field and confront them, then the same principle applied at Ibrox.

That point should not be blurred.

The initial pitch invasion and the subsequent confrontation are two different issues.

Scottish football now has a consistency test

Nobody needs to defend pitch invasions.

They are against the rules and clubs should discourage them.

But if Scottish football is going to treat pitch invasions as a major national issue, that standard has to apply equally.

Celtic supporters cannot be subjected to days of outrage while another incident involving another club is treated as little more than an unfortunate celebration.

Aberdeen supporters entered the pitch.

That happened.

Now we wait to see whether the reaction matches the standard Scottish football has already established.

Will there be the same fury?

The same headlines?

The same sweeping criticism of an entire support?

Or will the story quietly disappear?

Celtic supporters are entitled to ask those questions.

Because consistency should not depend on the colour of the scarf.