The next Old Firm derby is likely to be played without away support in attendance once again
In light of rumors that Celtic are prepared to reject Rangers’ request for 800 briefs for the upcoming Old Firm derby, Scottish Premiership teams are considering a new proposed regulation to guarantee visiting fans a set number of tickets.
On Saturday, December 30, the Glasgow giants will square off at Parkhead, and it appears that the game won’t be watched by any away fans once more after the Hoops rejected their bitter rivals’ offer of a comparable number of tickets at Ibrox last month, where Kyogo Furuhashi’s goal secured a 1-0 win in front of an entirely Gers fan base.
Accusations made between the clubs over reduced tickets has led to Scottish football’s flagship fixture being played with only home supporters in attendance, with the Scottish champions believing that such a small allocation places travelling fans at a “safety risk”.
That theme has carried on into this campaign. According to the Scottish Daily Mail, Rangers expect to be offered an allocation for the upcoming clash, but Celtic are set to reject the request.
Hearts have also reduced away tickets for fans bar Edinburgh rivals Hibs and Motherwell and expected to follow suit. It now appears SPFL’s Rule I27 could be modified to offer clarity over how many travelling supporters can attend matches at away venues.
It states “the home club must make provision for the admission of such reasonable numbers of visiting supporters at every home league match.” Rangers officials previously offered to work alongside Police Scotland to find a solution to the ongoing row and intimated they would be willing to provide additional stewards.
As a result, top-flight clubs are being asked if they would be in favour of a rule change and if that is the case then it is expected to got to a vote on January 22. All eleven sides would need to be in favour for any new resolution to pass. UEFA currently require clubs to allot five per cent of their ground to travelling fans.
Leave a Reply