Old Firm Derby Ticket Dispute Resolved in Favor of Celtic
The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) has finally made a decision regarding the contentious issue of ticket allocations for the upcoming Old Firm derby between Celtic and Rangers. The ruling, which was announced last night, has been in favor of Celtic, meaning that the Union Bears, Rangers’ ultra group, will not be allowed to attend the match at Celtic Park next weekend.
This decision comes after a long-standing dispute over the safety and security measures during high-profile matches between the two Glasgow giants. Celtic had previously stated that they would only release 2,200 away tickets to Rangers if those tickets were not sold to the Union Bears. This condition was put in place following the violent incidents that occurred at the end of the Scottish Cup game at Ibrox in March.
During that match, Celtic supporters invaded the pitch after their team won via a penalty shootout. In response, the Union Bears charged onto the pitch, leading to chaos and disorder. This incident sparked widespread concern about fan behavior and safety at football matches.
Rangers initially rejected Celtic’s stipulation, leading to the matter being referred to the SPFL’s governing body. After a week of deliberation and a hearing by an SPFL sub-committee on Thursday, the league finally confirmed that Celtic’s original condition would remain in place.
The situation has been described as “unedifying” by many involved, with the controversy over the ticket allocation likely to continue. Rangers now faces a difficult choice: either accept the terms set by Celtic or refuse the entire allocation of tickets. If no away fans are present, it is understood that Celtic would not sell the tickets to their own supporters, leaving a section of the stadium empty.
Although the SPFL did not provide a definitive verdict, they declined to overrule Celtic due to safety concerns. They cited the ongoing independent review into the Scottish Cup incident as a key factor in their decision. Additionally, the governing body mentioned that the matter had been raised at short notice, leaving them without enough time to thoroughly assess all relevant evidence.
The final Old Firm derby of the season is set to take place at Parkhead next Sunday. Both teams are locked in a tight race for the title, with Hearts also in contention. As per SPFL regulations, neither side can appeal the decision.
A statement from the SPFL read:
“Celtic, as the party responsible for the safety and security of the event, had imposed an additional condition on the distribution of away tickets that it considered necessary and proportionate for managing safety and security. Subject to that condition being agreed, Celtic remains willing to offer the amount of tickets to Rangers that they had undertaken to provide in their reciprocal agreement and that allocation remains available to Rangers. The sub-committee then determined that, based on the evidence presented, it would not overrule a risk assessment carried out by the party legally responsible for the safety and security of the event, or interfere with the mitigation measures it considered to be necessary to comply with SPFL Rule H36. Having reached that conclusion, the sub-committee confirmed that five per cent of the stadium was a reasonable allocation for this fixture in terms of SPFL Rule I27.”
An SPFL spokesperson added:
“We note the decision of the independent sub-committee. We have been consulting with all clubs for months regarding the rules in this area and had achieved consensus that the current deadline of 14 days before a match for a referral to the SPFL Board is insufficient to allow a proper forensic analysis of the circumstances. Following discussion at the SPFL’s Rules & Regulations Working Group, we had intended to table a resolution at the June AGM to bring forward the deadline to 35 days prior to a fixture and will now take time to reflect on this decision.”
Rangers and Celtic were both approached for comment.
