Moment Panathinaikos fans take over Irish bar and sit in Glasgow street ahead of crunch Rangers clash
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
PANATHINAIKOS fans have been spotted enjoying themselves ahead of tonight's £40m Champions League crunch versus Rangers at Ibrox.
The Athens outfit are renowned for their passionate supporters and a group of their followers have made themselves at home in Glasgow's Merchant City ahead of the clash.
Sign up for the Rangers newsletter
Sign up
2
Fans gather in the street outside Connolly's Irish bar
2
The fans go wild
Russell Martin is kicking off his reign as Rangers boss with his first game against Panathinaikos in a crunch Champions League qualifier.
And the Greek fans are clearly up for it - with footage shared on social media by Greek outlet Gazzetta showing fans sitting and kneeling down in the STREET then going wild as they performed terracing chants outside Connolly's Irish Bar on Bell Street in the city.
It's an establishment usually hugely popular with followers of Celtic and the travelling Greek fans - whose side also wear green and white and have a shamrock for their badge - clearly making themselves feel at home.
It was captioned with the words: "Panathinaikos fans are going wild in Glasgow!"
Both Panathinaikos and Rangers have three qualifying rounds to get past to reach the moneyspinning all-new Champions League 'league' phase for the first time.
The winners of the tie will face either Servette or Viktoria Plzen in the next round with the likes of Club Brugge or Benfica potentially waiting in the playoff round.
Premier League scouts, meanwhile, will be in attendance at Ibrox tonight to watch over a target who is attracting serious transfer interest, it's being claimed.
Star right-back Giorgos Vagiannidis is expected to start for Rui Vitoria tonight and he'll be hoping to put on a show in front of admirers.
According to Prasinoforos, scouts from the likes of Wolves and Everton among other clubs will be watching the action in Govan to assess the 23-year-old.
They could also have their eyes on at least one Rangers star, though, as Everton have recently expressed interest in a current Gers ace.
Rangers AREN'T READY for Champions League qualifiers Plus latest transfer news REVEALED
Hamza Igamane is believed to be on the radar of the Merseyside club, with other Premier League sides reportedly keeping tabs on him as well.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
21 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Joe Rothwell declares Rangers rebuild has taken a 'huge' step as ultimate hope revealed
Russell Martin got a massive victory in his first competitive game in the hot seat Joe Rothwell reckons that the victory over Panathinaikos can jolt Russell Martin 's Rangers revolution into life. The new Ibrox boss secured a crucial 2-0 win over the Greeks in his first competitive game to take a massive step towards the Champions League third qualifying round. The pre-season tune ups will continue today as Middlesborough arrive at Ibrox for a friendly showdown -with Martin facing the ultimate task of bringing silverware back to the blue half of Glasgow. Celtic claimed a domestic double last season with Brendan Rodgers' men finishing a whopping 17 points clear of their rivals during a trophyless season for the Light Blues. But Rothwell believes the victory on home turf against the Greeks can create more of a buy-in from the squad to Martin's football philosophy. Having worked under the Light Blues' gaffer at Southampton, the 30-year-old was already a believer in the high-intensity style of play. And Rothwell said: "It can be huge. 'I think he said in it's not going to be a season-defining game (Panathinaikos), but, we wanted to go out there and put a show on and really show how he wants to do things. 'As I say, I think we managed to do that, controlled the game, as we like to do and like I say, just a bit disappointed that we didn't go and probably kill the game off a little bit more. 'As I've said, there's going to be times in games where it's like that and we've just got to make sure we stick together. "The crowd might get a bit edgy, but we know what we want to do and how we want to do things and as long as we stick to that and believe in that, then I'm sure, as you seen tonight a lot of the time, it looks really good and works. "Like I say, there's going to be times, but as long as we stick together and we'll come through for it." Asked if the first big result of the season could inspire a special campaign, Rothwell added: "I hope so. 'That's why I've come here; come here to win things and take this club back to the top where they belong, "So like I say it's a stepping stone for us, but there's definitely things we can work on and build on and we'll look to do that next week."
Leader Live
23 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Referees to announce pitchside monitor review calls in top flight next season
The move by the English top flight follows an initial trial at the 2023 Women's World Cup and further testing in last season's FA Cup, Carabao Cup and EFL play-off finals. The move is designed to provide further information to fans inside stadiums and to television viewers, with top-flight managers and clubs understood being informed about this and other law changes at ongoing meetings ahead of the new season. It is understood the Premier League approach will differ slightly from last season's domestic cup trials because factual onside and offside decisions will not be announced. Whenever a VAR recommends the on-field official should review the decision, an announcement will be made regardless of whether the referee sticks with the original decision, or chooses to overturn it. PA understands the announcements are set to begin with the words 'after review', before going on to provide explanation and ending with the final outcome. The two-way discussion between referees and VARs will still not be available, as the game's lawmaking body, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) does not permit this. However, the on-field announcements of final decisions are a further step towards transparency, a key goal of Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer at Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL). The news comes after the total of VAR errors for last season was down to 18, from 31 the season before. Errors are defined as matters where, in the view of the independent Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel, VARs overturned a correct on-field decision or failed to intervene to overturn an incorrect on-field decision. There were 35 such errors in the 2022-23 season. The average VAR delay per match last season was 39 seconds, down from 64 in the 2023-24 season. That figure could drop further with a full season of semi-automated offside technology in use. The Premier League has been approached for comment.
Metro
23 minutes ago
- Metro
Chelsea transfer stance on Alexander Isak revealed after 'odds slashed' on deal
Chelsea's transfer stance on Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak has been revealed after 'odds were slashed' on a deal in the summer window. Isak has told Newcastle he wants to leave the club before the start of the new Premier League season with Liverpool linked to a huge £150m move. Rumours have emerged that Chelsea are also in the race to sign the 25-year-old Sweden international, who was previously Arsenal's No.1 target. However, according to football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are not actively working on a deal to sign Isak and have no interest in entering talks with Newcastle. The Blues are believed to be content with their forward line, which includes £60m new signing Joao Pedro and current striker Nicolas Jackson. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we'll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. Chelsea are instead fully focused on wrapping up deals to sign Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig and Jorrel Hato from Ajax. The update comes after Betfair said on Thursday that odds had been 'slashed' on Isak moving to Stamford Bridge in the summer window. Betfair spokesperson Sam Rosbottom said: 'With speculation on where Alexander Isak will be playing his football next season at an all time high following reports that he's told Newcastle he wants to leave, odds have been slashed on the 25-year-old to join Chelsea or Man United. 'Enzo Maresca's side are now 9/1 to secure his signature, having previously been 25/1. 'Meanwhile, Man United at now 18/1 to tempt him to Old Trafford, having been 40/1 prior to Thursday's shock announcement.' Like Chelsea, Manchester United are not in the race to sign Isak from Newcastle this summer. Isak has conjured up 62 goals and 11 assists for Newcastle in 109 games across all competitions to date since he joined them from Real Sociedad. Liverpool are thought to be the only English club in the race for Isak, who has also attracted interest from teams in the Saudi Pro League. Newcastle have told Liverpool that Isak is not for sale – but it's believed that a British record offer of around £150m 'could see a move accelerate in the coming weeks'. More Trending Liverpool are reportedly still keen on Isak despite signing a different striker, Hugo Ekitike, from Eintracht Frankfurt for £79m on Wednesday. It's thought that the Reds may have to offload a player before making a bid for Isak, such as Luis Diaz, who has been linked with an exit this summer. Isak was not named in Newcastle's squad for their pre-season tour of Asia this week. He also missed the recent 4-0 friendly defeat to Celtic having been affected by transfer speculation. MORE: Chelsea's Premier League rivals enter race to sign £20m Raheem Sterling MORE: Rio Ferdinand backs Arsenal star to have 'proper breakout year' and drools over Max Dowman MORE: Rio Ferdinand urges Man Utd to 'break the bank' with surprise move for Premier League midfielder
