O'Neill seeks redress after mauling by Rangers

Rangers 2 - Celtic

Jean-Alain Boumsong is an unlikely pacifist. There is enough muscle under the Frenchman's blue shirt to win any argument, but when the going got tough at Ibrox on Saturday, he became a mediator, not a gladiator.

Jean-Alain Boumsong is an unlikely pacifist. There is enough muscle under the Frenchman's blue shirt to win any argument, but when the going got tough at Ibrox on Saturday, he became a mediator, not a gladiator.

The Rangers defender tried to bring order to the 21-man mêlée which tarnished this Old Firm encounter, as Celtic finished with nine men and his own team-mate Nacho Novo faced a Scottish FA video review of a stamp on Stephen Pearson's head.

Rangers' victory, which may yet be pivotal in the race for the Scottish Premier League title, was overshadowed by Alan Thompson and Chris Sutton's red cards and a police rebuke for Bob Malcolm, after the Rangers substitute had made an obscene gesture once Novo's 14th-minute penalty had put the home side ahead.

Dado Prso headed a second goal in the 35th minute before what Martin O'Neill later described as a "game that was waiting to explode" did just that. Thompson was given a red card for appearing to head-butt Peter Lovenkrands, a crime that television pictures later exposed as an illusion.

"I was trying to hold people back," Boumsong said. "Everyone gets angry but we have to keep control. There are kids watching and we have to set an example. Sure, the Old Firm is important but it is just sport, it's not war. Hopefully, there will be no vendettas when we next meet Celtic. The players all shook hands at the end. I heard all about this game before I came here and I've never experienced anything like it. It is the best derby in the world."

Certainly, O'Neill will take a long time to calm down after a contest that trimmed the champions' lead to one point. The Celtic manager plans to appeal against Thompson's dismissal, on the grounds that the referee, Kenny Clark, was duped by Lovenkrands' feigning of injury.

"The review panel will have a lot to look at," he said. "Thompson's sending off was a turning point while Novo's challenge on Pearson was terrible." The Rangers striker played because a red card collected last weekend against Hibernian was rescinded. Television footage also shows Novo apparently kicking Jackie McNamara off the ball.

O'Neill has a real struggle on his hands. "We are still top but I always said the race would be tight," he said. "It will go down to the wire, just like 2003."

Goals: Novo (pen 14) 1-0; Prso (35) 2-0.

Rangers (4-4-2): Klos; Khizanishvili (Malcolm, 71) Andrews, Boumsong, Vignal (Ball, 58); Namouchi, Ricksen, Rae, Lovenkrands (Arveladze, 46); Novo, Prso. Substitutes not used: Smith (gk), Thompson, Hutton, MacKenzie.

Celtic (4-3-1-2): Hedman; Valgaeren, Balde, Vara, McNamara; Petrov (McGeady, 78), Lennon, Thompson; Sutton; Hartson, Camara (Pearson, 46). Substitutes not used: Marshall (gk), Juninho, Lambert, Wallace, Lawson.

Referee: K Clark.

Booked: Rangers: Rae, Lovenkrands, Kihizanishvili. Celtic: Camara, Sutton, Lennon, McNamara.

Sent off: Celtic: Thompson (38), Sutton (56).

Man of the match: Boumsong.

Attendance: 50,043.