Celtic fans sicken Graeme Souness for mocking Queen's death to the point Rangers legend refuses to even name them

The Ibrox icon was outraged after chants were heard by a section of the travelling fans at Villa Park

Rangers legend Graeme Souness has slammed Celtic fans for mocking the death of the late Queen in front of her grandson Prince William during the midweek Champions League game a Aston Villa.

Prince of Wales and future King – who supports Villa – was subject to chants of "Lizzie’s in a box" and "if you hate the Royal family, clap your hands" during the Battle of Britain showdown at Villa Park in midweek. The Scottish Premiership side went down 4-2 in an enthralling encounter in the Midlands but Ibrox icon Souness, writing in his Daily Mail column, hit out at the travelling Hoops legions for their chants.

Souness said: “We have sections of a support, I won't give them the courtesy of naming their club, effectively rejoicing over the death of the late Queen of England in front of her grandson. Brilliant, they must be really proud of themselves. In what warped walk of society is that thought acceptable? Is this what British football support or indeed Britain has become?”

Earlier this week, former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan also took issue with the taunts. He told talkSPORT: "It's freedom of speech, isn't it? I think they are an irrelevance, but they are entitled to their opinion. If you want to sing about the death of a monarch then there is something wrong with you, but Prince William is privy to other people's opinions on him – is it treason?

“Of course it's not. Is it disrespectful? Yeah. Are the things they say disrespectful, yeah, but it's their view. I think it's distasteful to say those sorts of things.

"You can be anti-royal, you can not believe in the monarchy - and lot's of people do. I'm moderately middle of the road about it. I understand the value of the monarchy, but constitutionally it has very little merit now. That has been the case for hundreds of years.

"But I don't sit there and listen to the Celtic fans and think you have anything to say that is of any relevance. You can disagree with something fundamentally without having to be disrespectful, and to talk about the death of a monarch and the challenges of that family in the way they do - I think it indicates a certain mindset.”

Police arrested 19 Celtic fans in Birmingham as trouble flared at the club's Champions League clash with Aston Villa. West Midlands Police worked with Police Scotland's football unit and 21 fans were arrested on as thousands of Hoops fans made the trip down south.

The arrests varied from violent disorder, assaults, possession of Class A drugs, having fraudulent tickets and throwing pyrotechnics onto the pitch which could see travelling fans banned from their next European clash against Bayern Munich next month.