Celtic Park should be bouncing today. Top of the table. A new manager in the home dugout. Hearts have spent months telling themselves they are genuine title contenders. All the ingredients for a blockbuster Premiership clash.
Except one.
Only 800 Hearts supporters will be in the away end as per John Paul Taylor’s latest update . That is the product of an allocation war that has gripped Scottish football for nearly a decade. Many Celtic fans will shrug that off, understandably so, given Tynecastle’s drastic cuts to the travelling support in recent seasons. Celtic have simply reciprocated. That is the line, and the club has stuck to it.
But it does not change that this should have been an occasion. A real football spectacle. A full away end driving the tension. Instead, a faint ripple of maroon in a corner of the Lisbon Lions Stand.
The wider trend is dispiriting. Celtic’s allocation has been slashed at Tynecastle, Pittodrie, Rugby Park, and beyond. Clubs often cite demand, yet TV pictures frequently show large empty sections that could comfortably house travelling Celtic supporters. It erodes the away-day culture that has defined Scottish football for generations. It chips away at what makes our league unique.
Celtic can argue, with some justification, that they can sell any seat not designated for away fans. Hearts can claim they are acting in the interests of their season-ticket base. Both sides operate within the rules.
But the reality is simple. Everyone loses.
Players lose the energy of a fully engaged, fully represented crowd. Supporters lose the chance to back their team. The league loses a selling point. Atmosphere is not an inconvenience. It is a currency, and Scottish football keeps devaluing it.
That is why today feels like a glimpse of a bigger problem. This game screams out for a sizeable away support. It will still feel big. It will still matter. Wilfried Nancy makes his home debut. Hearts arrive top of the league. Celtic Park rarely fails to generate noise when the stakes are high.
Yet the spectacle could have been greater. The rivalry could have been sharper. The league could have used this as an advert for what our game is supposed to be.
Something has to give. Clubs need to get around the table. Not for a grand gesture or a PR exercise. For a collective understanding that starving away ends does not help anybody. Demand should drive allocations. Atmosphere should be prioritised. The supporter experience should be central.
Scottish football loves to talk about growth. Today is a reminder that the easiest improvement is staring everyone in the face.
Give away fans their seats back.
