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If you told Wilfried Nancy that his handheld tactics board and choice of footwear would dominate the fallout from a debut defeat as Celtic manager, you’d probably have some explaining to do.

Tell any Scottish football fan, however, and they wouldn’t bat an eyelid.

After all, it was only a matter of months ago that Russell Martin’s decision not to wear a suit – or brown shoes – was making it more difficult for him to win over some Rangers fans.

The fact it was then viewed as some kind of small win for replacement head coach Danny Rohl to not make that same mistake was pretty bizarre.

In the aftermath of Celtic’s defeat by Hearts on Sunday, BBC Scotland pundits Jackie McNamara and Neil McCann referenced the memes that would be on the way after Nancy was seen using a small tactics board in the home dugout.

They were right. Social media was almost instantly flooded with images edited with AI assistance.

Nobody is trying to police light-hearted patter – something Scottish football fans do best – but the media fallout since has felt even more excessive than usual.

Yes, we can hear you crying irony as you read another piece of content relating to this issue.

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton reacted to a newspaper column by ex-Hearts forward Ryan Stevenson, labelling it “one of the dumbest and most backward takes” he had ever heard.

Stevenson had lambasted Nancy for pulling out a “little tactics board” and wearing eye-catching green and white trainers.

Former Celtic player Scott Allan, meanwhile, described it all as a “massive overreaction”.

“The tactics board thing is immaterial to anything,” Allan said on the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast.

“The guy’s in the door two days. He doesn’t speak perfect English. He doesn’t know everybody yet, so he’s trying to show somebody something via a tool.

But why does this even need to be a topic of discussion?

Putting jibes between supporters to one side, does the savagery from pundits and media come from a place of snobbery?

There have been suggestions the optics of the tactics board weren’t great, but if Celtic had won then those very suggestions would be non-existent.

They didn’t win, of course, but why shouldn’t a manager use the tools they feel benefit them?

Then you can factor in that Nancy had just a handful of hours on the training pitch with his team before Sunday.

Former Rangers coach McCann said himself that players often prefer to see tactical information visualised.

Ever wondered what coaches are looking at on the iPad propped up in the dugout? Shock to the system here, but they’re not ordering a takeaway or catching up with their new favourite series.

Sure, fans want positive first impressions from their manager, and perhaps some of the Celtic support had toes curling when they saw Nancy’s mini tactics board while their side were 2-0 down at home.

That can be true while also recognising that the fallout has been extreme.

“I think the reaction really has been over the top,” says Celtic fan podcaster Paul John Dykes. “You’ve got the visual element – let’s get the message across quickly.

If you told Wilfried Nancy that his handheld tactics board and choice of footwear would dominate the fallout from a debut defeat as Celtic manager, you’d probably have some explaining to do.

Tell any Scottish football fan, however, and they wouldn’t bat an eyelid.

After all, it was only a matter of months ago that Russell Martin’s decision not to wear a suit – or brown shoes – was making it more difficult for him to win over some Rangers fans.

The fact it was then viewed as some kind of small win for replacement head coach Danny Rohl to not make that same mistake was pretty bizarre.

In the aftermath of Celtic’s defeat by Hearts on Sunday, BBC Scotland pundits Jackie McNamara and Neil McCann referenced the memes that would be on the way after Nancy was seen using a small tactics board in the home dugout.

They were right. Social media was almost instantly flooded with images edited with AI assistance.

Nobody is trying to police light-hearted patter – something Scottish football fans do best – but the media fallout since has felt even more excessive than usual.

Yes, we can hear you crying irony as you read another piece of content relating to this issue.

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton reacted to a newspaper column by ex-Hearts forward Ryan Stevenson, labelling it “one of the dumbest and most backward takes” he had ever heard.

Stevenson had lambasted Nancy for pulling out a “little tactics board” and wearing eye-catching green and white trainers.

Former Celtic player Scott Allan, meanwhile, described it all as a “massive overreaction”.

“The tactics board thing is immaterial to anything,” Allan said on the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast.

“The guy’s in the door two days. He doesn’t speak perfect English. He doesn’t know everybody yet, so he’s trying to show somebody something via a tool.

But why does this even need to be a topic of discussion?

Putting jibes between supporters to one side, does the savagery from pundits and media come from a place of snobbery?

There have been suggestions the optics of the tactics board weren’t great, but if Celtic had won then those very suggestions would be non-existent.

They didn’t win, of course, but why shouldn’t a manager use the tools they feel benefit them?

Then you can factor in that Nancy had just a handful of hours on the training pitch with his team before Sunday.

Former Rangers coach McCann said himself that players often prefer to see tactical information visualised.

Ever wondered what coaches are looking at on the iPad propped up in the dugout? Shock to the system here, but they’re not ordering a takeaway or catching up with their new favourite series.

Sure, fans want positive first impressions from their manager, and perhaps some of the Celtic support had toes curling when they saw Nancy’s mini tactics board while their side were 2-0 down at home.

That can be true while also recognising that the fallout has been extreme.

“I think the reaction really has been over the top,” says Celtic fan podcaster Paul John Dykes. “You’ve got the visual element – let’s get the message across quickly.

South Africa lock Eben Etzebeth says the incident in which he made contact with the left eye of Wales back row Alex Mann was “a mistake”.

The 34-year-old double World Cup-winner was handed a 12-week ban last week after an independent disciplinary panel decided he was guilty of an eye gouge.

It was Etzebeth’s first red card in 141 internationals for the Springboks, which occurred in the 73-0 win over Wales in Cardiff on 29 November.

“Now that my hearing is done I think I owe everyone an explanation,” Etzebeth said on social media.

“First of all, this is not a post to show that I was not guilty, I accept guilt. I made a mistake and I’m willing to serve a suspension which I deserve.

Etzebeth had come on as a second-half replacement in Cardiff but was shown a straight red card in the 79th minute by French referee Luc Ramos after a fracas between the two sets of players.

Along with his explanation, the Springbok great also posted a video of the incident, claiming his part in the altercation came as a response to being struck by Mann and his own actions were not intentional.

“I’d like to answer the question – why did you do such a thing?” Etzebeth added.

“It was a mistake caused by my reaction and other factors that played a role.

“[Referring to the video] Slide 1: The scuffle was basically over when Wales number 7 struck me with an open hand to my chin/neck area, you can see me looking at the assistant referee and waiting for a reaction from him (it happened fast and it’s understandable that he didn’t see it) without reacting yet, I got another pull on my jersey, before I go in with the similar type of action.

“Slide 2: You can clearly see my first point of contact is against his shoulder with an open hand, just like he did, except he got me on the chin. Another thing worth mentioning, when he struck me, I was standing still with not a lot of movement or players trying to get involved.

“When I went for the same open hand towards his shoulder, you’ll see two Welsh players changing the dynamic of the entire picture as well as one of my team-mates pulling Wales number 7 around his neck away from my hand and where my force is going.”

There was another slide and different camera angle provided as Etzebeth outlined why he had posted his explanation.

“To try and show people how everything happened and that it was never intentional,” said Etzebeth.

“I would never do something like this on purpose, I know what the consequences will be after playing rugby for a few years.”

World Rugby’s sanctions for eye-gouging – described as “intentional contact with the eyes” – run from a ban ranging from 12 weeks at the low end, to a maximum of four years.

The panel found that contact with the eye was intentional and a “mid-range” entry point of 18 weeks was appropriate. Mitigating factors, including Etzebeth’s previous disciplinary record, meant that was reduced to 12 weeks.

Etzebeth said: “Thanks to everyone that stood by me and thought the best of me. I’m sorry for letting you and the game down. That was my first red card since I started playing. I want it to be my last.