Rangers fans look on anxiously during the UEFA Europa League Semi-final, second leg football match between Rangers and RB Leipzig at the Ibrox Stadium, in Glasgow, on May 5, 2022. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
Moussa Dembele alleges Rangers fans emailed him ‘death threats’ ahead of the Celtic-Rangers rivalry.
The French striker has spoken out about alleged death threats from Rangers fans while at Celtic.
Former Celtic player Moussa Dembele claims he received death threats from Rangers fans prior to the Old Firm derby.
Under Brendan Rodgers, the former Hoops striker had a good stay in Glasgow, netting a hat-trick against their fiercest rivals in his debut in the famed derby. Dembele would go on to score at Ibrox and win back-to-back Trebles during a historic Celtic career before joining Lyon in his hometown. Dembele now plays for former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq and admits his departure from the Rhone club was bitter.
In a candid interview following his departure to Saudi Arabia, the 27-year-old also said that he got death threats while playing for the Hoops. “In football, as in life, when you feel appreciated and supported, you are better,” he told Foot Mercato. When it comes from the opposition, hostility does not frighten me.
“I’d even go so far as to say it stimulates me.” Before the Glasgow derbies, I received death threats from Rangers fans, but that didn’t stop me from doing my job.
“However, when the hostility comes from your own supporters and turns into hatred, it’s a different story.” My final season in Lyon was difficult. Despite the impediments thrown in my path by management, I had made a good start. I recognize that I could and could have done better. That, however, was not the case. “My services are clear and objective to me.”
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