Defeated Rangers Release Celtic Park Statement

Rangers have confirmed they will take up their ticket allocation for the final Glasgow derby of the season at Celtic Park, but only after their challenge to Celtic’s position fell flat.

The Ibrox club released a statement on Saturday afternoon, saying they were “deeply disappointed” with the SPFL’s decision to back Celtic’s stance over the proposed away allocation. Rangers had objected after Celtic made it clear they would provide around five per cent of the stadium to away supporters, but not if those tickets were distributed to members of the Union Bears.

That condition has now been accepted in practice, with Rangers confirming the group have “volunteered that they do not wish to be included within the club’s ticket allocation for this fixture.”

The statement read: “It sets a concerning precedent with potentially lasting consequences for the league and match-going fans, cutting across the spirit of the competition and disregarding the established agreement on away allocations between clubs.”

That is one way of framing it.

Another is that Celtic made a safety-based decision after the shambles that unfolded at Ibrox on March 8, and the SPFL declined to overrule the club responsible for staging the match.

The Scottish Cup quarter-final ended with Celtic winning on penalties before ugly full-time scenes took over. STV reported that dozens of Celtic fans spilled onto the pitch in celebration, sparking an invasion from hundreds of Rangers supporters at the opposite end, with flares and objects thrown as police and stewards moved to form a barrier. The same report stated Police Scotland had made 17 arrests following violence in which officers, supporters, Celtic coaching staff and players were assaulted.

That is the part Rangers’ statement rather neatly glides past.

There is plenty of talk about precedent, reputation, fairness and the spirit of the competition. There is far less acknowledgement of why Celtic felt the need to attach a condition in the first place.

The SPFL confirmed that Celtic offered Rangers an allocation broadly amounting to five per cent of the stadium, subject to an additional condition. Rangers rejected that condition and referred the matter to the league. A hearing then took place on Thursday, April 30, in front of an independent SPFL Board Sub-Committee, where both clubs presented evidence and legal arguments.

The SPFL did not decide to invent a new ticketing culture overnight. It looked at the matter and refused to overrule Celtic’s risk assessment.

That is the key point.

Celtic, as the home club, have responsibility for safety inside Celtic Park. After what happened at Ibrox, it would have been reckless for the club to simply shrug and carry on as if nothing had changed.

The Union Bears had no business being on the pitch that day. No supporter did. However the distinction between why Celtic supporters spilled onto the pitch and why Ragers fans were on the pitch has to be made.

Rangers say their club, supporters and reputation will continue to be “defended robustly” while that process takes place.

Fair enough. But Celtic are entitled to defend their stadium, their supporters and their staff too.

The end result is that Rangers fans will be present at Celtic Park for a defining league fixture, but without the group at the centre of the dispute being included in the allocation.

Rangers can call it concerning. Celtic will probably call it common sense.