MICHAEL BEALE sidestepped the question of Celtic fans being banned in their numbers at Ibrox. The coach bringing up a Brazilian example where no away fans are allowed through the door.
The former Ibrox assistant manager will take on his first derby as the boss on Monday afternoon and has praised the rivalry in general.
However, when asked to comment on his board’s decision to stop a large section of Celtic fans from attending this game, he clearly didn’t want to rock the boat.
Beale told RecordSport: “Why is this game up there with the best derbies? It’s just the passion, the way the game is played. It’s history. It’s everything that we love about football. Of course, it has another side to it but let’s focus on the positive part.
“When I went to Brazil, they weren’t arguing about 700 away tickets. Away fans weren’t allowed to go to derby games due to crowd violence. If you’re Sao Paulo and you play Corinthians, there are no away fans. It’s the same if you go to play Palmeiras or Santos and vice versa.
“There was a famous game just before I joined where Santos and Sao Paulo’s buses met before the game. Players from each team had to sit next to each other on the drive to the game. That’s never going to happen here in Glasgow!
“But it just shows you that, around the world, there are circumstances around every big derby game. We have a beautiful one here and it’s important we embrace it.
“The team that loses isn’t the worst team in the world. I know people have to sharpen their pencils the next day and write that it’s life and death. But it isn’t. It’s a big game, but I’m looking forward to it. There won’t be any sleepless nights before it.”
The final game with a full allocation at Ibrox was under Brendan Rodgers when the bhoys went down to ten men at 2-2. Instead of trying to play out for the draw, Odsonne Edouard came on and won the game for the Hoops in spectacular fashion. It was the latest in a long line of humbling Celtic handed out to their rivals on their own patch.
Celtic fans widely speculate it was because of that run under Rodgers and the fans partying in the stadium that caused the Ibrox board to take the huff.
Well-placed sources told Celtsarehere that Celtic have since tried on several occasions to speak about bringing back a larger allocation. The club haven’t been met with pettiness.
There will be around 700 fans in the door on Monday afternoon, hoping to see a repeat of the last time Celtic played at Ibrox. The hoops won 2-1 after going a goal down and effectively won the league. A win on Monday would put the bhoys 12 points ahead.
