Brown, a regular Rangers TV co-commentator, sparked ridicule late last season when he claimed the Ibrox club were the victims of an organised conspiracy after being denied a goal against Hibernian.
The bizarre outburst came as Celtic cruised to a fourth straight title, leaving Rangers trailing miles behind. The club were fined a measly £3k for the comments, but they were irate they had been taken to task in any capacity.
O’Neill, speaking on talkSPORT, didn’t hold back when dissecting the nonsense.
“Let’s put it in its context,” he said. “The goal that might have stood against Hibs meant that Rangers were only going to lose the league by 17 points or 19 points, or whatever the case may be. It’s a bit of fun.”
When host Jim White remarked that O’Neill was “loving this”, the former Celtic boss doubled down.
“The club can’t divorce itself from saying, ‘it was his comments and it has nothing to do with the club’. It is a club channel, and therefore, he shouldn’t be saying it.
“He doubled down on it when he had the chance to apologise. Listen, I have seen it on the other side. I have seen it with us, with us being Celtic. We are every bit as paranoid as Rangers are.”
It’s rare to hear such sharp self-awareness from either side of the Glasgow divide, but O’Neill’s comments ring true. Conspiracies tend to gain traction when emotions run high — especially in a league where officiating standards remain abysmal.
Still, Brown’s ramblings came at a time when Rangers fans were watching Celtic stretch even further ahead — 55 titles and counting. For a support that has long clung to the myth of being Scotland’s most successful club, that shift in reality has clearly bruised their psyche.
John Brown’s refusal to back down, and Rangers’ silence on the matter, shows a club happy to let inflammatory nonsense go unchallenged — so long as it plays to the gallery. But as O’Neill pointed out, if it’s your channel, it’s your responsibility.
