Ian Crocker blasts 'nonsense' Rangers bias claims as 'bluenose' dig from Alan Brazil resurfaces

Daily Record

26-05-2025

The long-serving voice of Scottish football isn't having accusations he leans towards either of the Glasgow giants
Ian Crocker says claims he favours one Old Firm side over the other are 'total and utter nonsense' in a rare response to accusations of commentary bias.
The long-serving Sky Sports commentator has been one of the leading voices of Scottish football for the last three decades and, having covered most of the major Celtic and Rangers clashes in recent memory, he's had to develop a thick skin.
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He's never had to look far for accusations of bias from both sides – in 2021, Alan Brazil branded him a 'big bluenose' live on radio after Crocker commentated on Rangers' 4-1 win over the Hoops on their way to the title in 2021.
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There have also been Rangers fans pointing to his friendships with Celtic icons like Davie Provan and Andy Walker as proof of a secretly-held allegiance, but Crocker isn't having any of it.
He told The Herald: 'It does make me laugh when I see one tweet saying, 'ah he's a Rangers man' beside another saying, 'no, no, he's a big Celtic man'.
'A lot of the time you get people saying, 'you sounded more exciting for their goal than ours'.
'It's total and utter nonsense. Sometimes you might not go full pelt on a goal because you are wondering who scored it or it's an own goal.
'It's part of the territory, it will never change and you get used to it. I tell people I support my hometown of Weymouth or West Ham they look puzzled and say, 'yeah but what Scottish team do you support?…'
And to any Rangers fans who reckon his friendships with the likes of Walker and Provan are proof he leans the other way, he points to the fact he was also close with the late Walter Smith until his death in 2021.
He said: 'Me and Davie just got on from day one. I hate commentators who crush each other, which seems to be a more common theme these days.
'After Davie, Andy Walker took over and we just became good friends.
'Both of those guys are just very good at what they do. The actual analysis is harder than the commentary because I'm just shouting out names while they have to figure out what's right and what's wrong and why a goal was disallowed.
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'Walter Smith used to say, 'ring me at 8.30am' and he would fill me in on injuries and why they were injured et cetera.
'I'd probably still be on the phone to him at 9am before saying, 'right I have to go to a game now'.
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'Walter was different class to deal with and Craig Brown was the same with Scotland and Preston.
'The chats with Walter were fantastic. These days it's a bit harder to get managers to give you the team and I kind of get that with the pressure they're under these days.
'But I always felt if Walter could trust me that was a decent recommendation but, lovely a guy as he was, I wouldn't have wanted to cross him.
'I bumped into him at a game at Rangers a couple of years after he retired and I saw him in the tunnel where he said to me, 'one of the worst things about not being involved in the game anymore is that I f***** well have to listen to you on the telly now….'