Rangers, Celtic Exit Champions League Amid Scottish Football Crisis

Scottish football faced a severe crisis as both Rangers and Celtic suffered humiliating exits from European competitions, highlighting longstanding issues in club management and performance. Rangers were heavily defeated by Club Brugge with a 9-1 aggregate loss, exposing defensive frailties and placing manager Russell Martin under intense pressure amid a poor domestic start. Meanwhile, Celtic's failure to qualify for the Champions League group stage, losing on penalties to Kairat Almaty, continued a troubling pattern of early European exits over the past decade, prompting criticism of the Celtic board's mismanagement. The defeats have reignited debates about ambition, recruitment, and leadership at both clubs, with fans and analysts expressing frustration over the repeated failures on the continental stage. Despite these setbacks, the upcoming Old Firm derby remains a critical moment for both teams to assert domestic supremacy and potentially shift narratives. The situation reflects a broader decline in Scottish football's competitiveness in Europe, underscoring urgent calls for structural and strategic changes.