Nafisa“I Faked It to Get Revenge – Ex-Rangers Star Admits He Tricked Ref to Get Celtic Rival Sent Off in Explosive Old Firm Derby Confession”
In a candid and controversial revelation, former Rangers winger Peter Lovenkrands has admitted to deliberately deceiving a referee to have his Celtic rival Alan Thompson sent off during one of the most fiery Old Firm clashes of the 2000s.
The incident, which occurred during a heated derby at Ibrox in 2004, remains one of the most debated moments in the storied history of Glasgow’s great football divide. During the first half, Thompson was shown a straight red card for what appeared to be a headbutt on Lovenkrands, who dramatically collapsed to the turf, clutching his face.
But replays told a different story—there was minimal contact between the two players. Celtic manager Martin O’Neill was livid and launched an appeal to have the dismissal overturned, but the Scottish FA upheld the decision, leaving the Hoops to play the rest of the match a man down in a game they eventually lost 2-0.
Now, two decades on, Lovenkrands has come clean about the incident during a tell-all interview on the *Open Goal* podcast. According to the Dane, the red card was no accident—it was calculated revenge for the persistent harassment he says he endured from Thompson over several matches.
“Alan Thompson and I had a fierce rivalry,” Lovenkrands explained. “He was always trying to mess with my head—physically, mentally, verbally. That day at Ibrox, I’d had enough.”
“He was constantly on my back, doing everything he could to knock me off my game. I was still young at the time, and he targeted me. But I saw an opportunity to get one back on him—and I took it.”
Lovenkrands admitted that when the two clashed during the match, the contact was minor, but he chose to exaggerate the moment and hit the deck. “That fall? Yeah, I made more of it than I should have. I wanted payback. Getting him sent off felt like the only way to respond to everything he’d put me through on the pitch.”
The Danish winger, who was substituted at halftime by then-Rangers boss Alex McLeish, faced criticism even at the time for his theatrics. But now, with years of reflection behind him, he openly acknowledges the act as a deliberate piece of gamesmanship motivated by personal rivalry rather than genuine aggression.
Interestingly, the pair later worked together at Newcastle United, putting their long-standing feud behind them—but the memory of that infamous derby moment lives on in Glasgow lore.
With emotions always running high in Old Firm encounters, Lovenkrands’ confession sheds fresh light on just how intense and personal the historic rivalry can be—where every tackle, word, and glance can turn into a defining flashpoint.
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