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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Ewan Paton

Referee named for Rangers vs Celtic derby clash at Ibrox

The referee for this weekend's Rangers vs Celtic clash has been announced.

Steven McLean will take charge of the derby encounter as Ange Postecoglou's side make the short trip across Glasgow to Ibrox.

The on-field ref will be assisted by David Roome and Jonathan Bell, with Don Robertson appointed as his fourth official.

Greg Aitken will be on VAR at Clydesdale House alongside assistant David McGeachie.

Celtic are already Premiership champions having wrapped up the title away at Hearts on Sunday.

Michael Beale has yet to defeat the Hoops as permanent Gers manager in four attempts to date.

This will be McLean's first time in charge of the powderkeg derby for over six years. 

The last time he referee Rangers vs Celtic was in December 2016 where goals from Moussa Dembele and Scott Sinclair cancelled out Kenny Miller's opener at Ibrox.

More recently, he has been involved in the fixture, but on VAR duties. 

He was the man in charge of the technology for the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden at the end of April, where Jota's headed goal made all the difference.

Don Robertson was in charge of that match on the field after Willie Collum pulled up with an injury at the last minute.

Meanwhile, Brian Laudrup admits there will be a sizable number of those at Rangers who would be delighted to see Ange Postecoglou leave Celtic in the near future.

The former Ibrox player reckons his old side needs to find a solution to overcome the "psychological barrier" with the Premiership champions.

He wrote in his Daily Mail column: "I think a lot of people at Rangers would dearly love to see the back of Ange Postecoglou. But that's just the respect the Celtic manager is getting for the job he has done in charge at Parkhead.

"You would never describe becoming champions of Scotland as an easy feat but Postecoglou's side have won the Premiership title very comfortably this season.

"Celtic have set the benchmark again, just as they did last season. You have to say they have been flawless. They have a clear identity in how they want to play their football and they have been relentless in going about their business.

"They are not a team that will rest on their laurels. They will go looking for new players this summer and Postecoglou will want to keep raising the bar even higher.

"Looking at Rangers, you would have to say the Ibrox side have done all right since Michael Beale took over last November. I was back in Scotland for the Viaplay Cup final and the Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic, and Rangers are not that far away from their old rivals. But there is a gap, that's for sure."

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