Advertisement
BAD BHOY

'I play for Celtic' - Duffy reveals reason for Rangers guard of honour snub

The former Derry City forward found the reaction to his decision not to clap funny.

MICHAEL DUFFY SAYS that he refused to clap Rangers onto the field in their game against Alloa Athletic because he is a Celtic player.

Duffy is on loan at Alloa from the Glasgow club and drew the ire of Rangers supporters when he did not clap as part of a guard of honour welcoming the Scottish Championship winners onto the pitch before scoring the opening goal in the 1-1 draw last Saturday.

The 21-year-old says that playing for the Bhoys is the reason for his snub and revealed that he was amused by the reaction.

“I play for Celtic so that’s the only real reason I did it,” Duffy told the Derry Journal. “I’m sure it will all die down after a while but it’s funny to see everyone go mad about it. It’s just the way it is being a Celtic player.”

Duffy joined the Bhoys in February 2015 from SSE Airtricity League club Derry City and he was part of the club’s development squad before going on loan to Alloa, where he has scored three goals in 33 league appearances.

And, while he enjoyed the atmosphere at Ibrox, the Derry native relished silencing the crowd. Duffy said: “It was a class experience to play in front of such a big crowd and when I scored the whole place just fell silent.

There will be a new manager in place when Duffy returns to Celtic Park, following the news that Ronny Deila will step down at the end of the season and the Northern Ireland Under-21 international is hoping to force his way into the first-team.

“It’s a fresh start for everyone at Celtic now which is a good thing so I’m looking forward to get back there for pre-season,” Duffy said. “But it’s good because scoring against Rangers gets my name out there now.

“The Premiership will be a step up. I think I should be playing at that level next year for Celtic and, if not, I’ll try and get a team on loan, but my main goal is trying to get my chance at Celtic.

“Hopefully the new manager comes in and sees my qualities. Maybe, I can catch his eye early and then see how it goes.”

Stiliyan Petrov plans to return to professional football after full recovery from leukaemia

Your Voice
Readers Comments
32
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.