RANGERS suffered heartbreak in Spain last night after they crashed out of the Europa League following a 2-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao.
Dropping out of the competition at such a late stage when the final is already in your sights is tough for any player to take.
But Athletic Bilbao fans couldn’t resist rubbing more salt into Rangers‘ wounds as many held Celtic flags and strips aloft in the home end as both sets of players thanked their supporters at full-time.
There was extra fire in this quarter-final tie due to the Spanish club’s unique friendship with Rangers’ biggest rivals.
Celtic and Athletic Bilbao have had a close bond for 14 years ever since the two teams met in a friendly back in 2011.
The match ended in a goalless draw and at the time, manager Neil Lennon pointed out many similarities between both clubs, including the traditions and history of each team.
Celtic’s greatest ever captain was then honoured by the La Liga side eight years later as they presented their “One Club Man” award to Billy McNeill.
Athletic Bilbao delegate José Ángel Iribar travelled to Glasgow to hand over the accolade to Martin McNeill, Billy’s youngest son.
Celtic then arranged a testimonial for James Forrest in 2023 and the Basque outfit were the chosen opponents for that game.
Bilbao fans have never forgotten about their friends over in Scotland.
And that was evident at the Estadio de San Mames last night as Celtic colours were dotted around the home end from kick-off right up until full-time.
Irish flags were spotted throughout the game as well as Celtic strips and scarves.
Rangers fans belt out club anthem as they take over Bilbao ahead of huge Europa League clash with Athletic Club
That was even the same in the away end at Ibrox last week.
And Hoops merchandise was proudly waved while the Bilbao players celebrated their quarter-final win in front of the sell-out crowd.
It wasn’t just the fans who produced Celtic tributes during the game though.
Even one of the scorers in last night’s tie had a unique Hoops-themed message in the form of a tattoo which he proudly displayed to the cameras.
Oihan Snacet, who broke the deadlock in Spain, has a tattoo which reads, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, a nod to the iconic Celtic and Liverpool song.
It’s unclear if he got the ink in honour of either clubs or if he’s just a fan of the famous anthem.
But he put it on display when he found the net to open the scoring in the second leg.
