Martin O’Neill has addressed questions about the final derby of the season at Celtic Park and whether Rangers supporters will still be present following the recent events at Ibrox. The match is expected to take place after the Premiership split, when the top six sides face each other again.
The issue has been discussed widely since the Scottish Cup tie at Ibrox, where the match ended with a penalty shootout victory for Celtic. After the winning Tomas Cvancara penalty, Celtic supporters entered the pitch near their end in celebration before Rangers supporters appeared from another area of the stadium.
Those scenes have led to discussions about future arrangements for away supporters in the fixture. In recent seasons, the allocation for visiting fans has been reduced compared with the numbers seen in previous decades.
Despite that debate, the upcoming league meeting at Celtic Park is still expected to include away supporters. Under league rules, visiting teams are entitled to a ticket allocation for Premiership fixtures.
O’Neill was asked directly whether there was any concern that Rangers might not receive tickets for the match after the split.
He said: (Celtic FC YouTube), “No, no, Rangers will be due their allocation, won’t they? And they’re entitled to that as well too.
“It’s a league game, so I don’t think anybody’s arguing about that.
“But what I was talking about was the full allocation, something that I feel the fixture, although still a great fixture, has missed in years.
“And it looks, because of the happenings on Sunday, I assume that everybody will have a look at it and think, well, maybe it’s not worthwhile.”
O’Neill was drawing a line between the normal away allocation used in league games and the much larger travelling supports that used to be common in this fixture.
Years ago, both clubs would give thousands of tickets to the visiting side. In recent seasons that number has been cut back, leaving only a small section of away fans at Celtic Park and Ibrox.
There had been talk about whether bigger allocations could return again. When large numbers of supporters from both clubs are inside the stadium, the noise and tension around the match usually feels different.
What happened after the Scottish Cup tie may now affect those conversations. The authorities and both clubs are expected to review the scenes before deciding if anything changes going forward.
For now, attention stays on the games still to be played. When the sides meet again after the split, Celtic Park should still include a section for away supporters as part of the normal league arrangement.
Keep Reading
