Rangers midfielder Todd Cantwell unrepentant over Celtic water-bottle incident

Rangers midfielder Todd Cantwell has certainly been a man making headlines since his January transfer window arrival.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - MAY 07: Todd Cantwell in action for Rangers during a cinch Premiership match between Rangers and Aberdeen at Ibrox Stadium, on May 07, 2023, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

In a fashion that has left the likeable 25-year-old in no doubt that the life for footballers stationed with either one of Scotland’s big two can prove claustrophobic. The player has impressed with his drive and determination but has grabbed more attention for chucking a water-bottle bag out of reach of Celtic’s Reo Hatate in the Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to his club’s great rivals a fortnight ago. The, frankly, over-the-top reaction to the incident appears wearying to Cantwell. However, it has not given him cause to regret his actions subsequently, as he prepares for facing Ange Postecoglou’s men for a fourth time – the Ibrox meeting of the duo a last chance to halt a three-game losing streak to a Celtic that appear firmly on course to land a record eigth treble.

“Listen, I feel like you can’t really breathe wrongly up here and it makes the media,” he said, having previously caused a stooshie in bemoaning that Rangers’ hapless defending in their 3-2 loss at Celtic Park a month ago had left him feeling their adversaries “didn’t win” that encounter so much as his team “lost it”. “The way I look at it, if we had a player down or they had a player down and the physio had come on and I had gone over to [Callum] McGregor and asked for a drink of water, I can imagine what he would have said to me. I think I was quite polite, to be honest.”

Cantwell was spotted having a frank exchange of views with the Celtic captain at the conclusion of the Hampden tie. He insists there is no bad blood, though he could not resist offering a bullish take on what was then communicated. “Listen, it is a healthy rivalry,” he said. “They have come out on top this year so I am in a position where I can’t really speak too much. I respect what they have done but, listen, next year that is where we want to be. We want to be up there and I was just reminding him that we are on our way.”