Celtic hero receives a guard of honour as Arne Slot talks about 'respect' following Rangers' refusal

It was a weekend when the champions of Scotland and England were able to celebrate their respective title wins.

Last week, Celtic confirmed their Scottish Premiership crown by thrashing Dundee United and sealing title number 55.

Less than 24 hours later, Liverpool were tearing apart Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham to seal English Premier League title number 20 at Anfield.

Fast forward to this weekend, there was a lot of talk around guard of honours, and whether or not the opposing team should provide one to the champions.

Things were made more interesting because Celtic were taking on Rangers at Ibrox, and many were wondering if a guard of honour would be provided to Scotland’s most successful club.

Of course, Rangers didn’t provide Celtic with a guard of honour, and Barry Ferguson made that clear before the match, but at least one former Hoops star was respected hours after the Glasgow derby had concluded.

Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

Liverpool and Celtic hero Virgil van Dijk given a guard of honour by Chelsea after Rangers’ refusal

Virgil van Dijk spent two years in Celtic colours, helping himself to three trophies, including two Premiership titles.

At Liverpool, he has matched his title tally from Glasgow, as he and his teammates were given a guard of honour before their 3-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

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Arne Slot talks about the guard of honour ‘respect’

Many might say that things are built differently in Scotland, and the rivalry between Celtic and Rangers has a much different meaning, and that’s true.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot had previously only managed in the Netherlands, including winning the title at Feyenoord, before moving to Anfield.

Slot spoke about how much he appreciated the guard of honour from Chelsea, including the ‘respect’ that is shown by English teams in comparison to others, as he told Sky Sports.

“Looking forward is maybe not the right word,” said Slot. “But the reason why they do it makes it special because we are champions.

“I think it’s a nice thing that you do in this country to show respect to each other. But if I am correct, maybe I am wrong, it’s the players who walk and not the manager.

“It’s a nice thing. There are a lot of things here, I have said many times, the away fans and home fans can just go to the stadium without any problem.

“There is a lot of respect in this country for football and football fans. This is one of them making a guard of honour for the champions, so it’s a nice gesture for the champions.”

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