Red cards fly as Celtic stay alive as they beat Rangers in fiery Old Firm clash

Scotland team-mates David Weir and Gary Caldwell were both red-carded after the final whistle at Parkhead as stars from both sides fought on the pitch and clashed in the tunnel.

And the SFA will this morning open investigations into a second-half incident when Rangers team medical officer, Dr Paul Jackson, was struck by a missile as he treated goalkeeper Allan McGregor.

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With match referee Kenny Clark already aware of the coin-throwing controversy, he was forced to call players from both sides to his dressing room to account for the rumble in the tunnel long after the dust had settled on Celtic's 2-1 victory.

Sportsmail can reveal Weir was red-carded for violent conduct and will be banned for Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final against St Johnstone. Caldwell was sent off, also for violent conduct, and is out of Saturday's SPL game with Aberdeen.

And Celtic captain Stephen McManus was yellow-carded in the tunnel for 'adopting a threatening attitude'.

The belated punishments took the overall crime count to three reds and five yellows on a night of astonishing drama in what was Clark's last ever Old Firm encounter.

Steven Naismith didn't even kick a ball all night, yet was booked for taking his celebrations too far after Nacho Novo had cancelled out Shunsuke Nakamura's opener.

The only man to see red during the 90 minutes was Carlos Cuellar, who handled Nakamura's net-bound drive in the second half, giving Clark his easiest decision of the night.

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The Spaniard will now miss the final Old Firm game at Parkhead on April 27 - a match that has the makings of a title decider. Rangers looked to have wrapped up the championship as they ran down the clock into injury time.

But Vennegoor of Hesselink's late headed winner cranked up the tension.

Tempers snapped as the final whistle blew, with Novo and Aiden McGeady involved and Weir and Caldwell grappling as well as the two club captains, Barry Ferguson and McManus.

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It was an astonishing finale to an astonishing game.

"Carlos will be out of the next game at Celtic Park because that is the rules," said Rangers boss Walter Smith later. "I don't know what happened in the tunnel. I shook hands with Gordon Strachan, as I always would do, and did not see too much of it. I went to see the referee about another matter but he refused to speak to me."

Rangers midfielder Lee McCulloch, was in the dark, too, about the post-match aggro.

"I must have been too far up the tunnel," he said diplomatically. "I had tried to split up a few people but I don't know if any action was taken.

"I don't know anything about the doctor being hit by a missile. But he is OK because I was speaking to him just there in the dressing room."

McGeady said: "There was a minor incident between myself and Nacho but it was handbags. It has escalated into something it didn't need to. A lot of focus will be put on that now, but it's nothing really."