Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers speaks out against Rangers allocation stance

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has spoken out against the decision by Rangers to cut the allocation and refuse to engage in discussions to restore larger away supports going forward. The teams will meet tomorrow in the Cinch Premiership for the second Glasgow Derby match of the season but there will be no away fans at Celtic Park.

Speaking at the media conference on Friday, Rodgers was asked about the fact that the game will be played in front of Celtic fans only and how much of an impact that will have, before putting his view across regarding the current allocation.

“It does, it does. It rolls down out of the stands to the field and it can be a great boost for the players. That emotion, that real positivity, it is something that Celtic is all about – that relationship between the support and the players, that encouragement.

“I still think the game is best when there is an away support there, that is my honest take on it but it is our turn to play at home with all of our supporters and we will relish that.”

There will be no away fans at the game tomorrow after Rangers were unable to offer safety guarantees following the New Years Derby last season, which saw several Celtic fans injured.

The last game that had the traditional allocation was the meeting between sides in April 2018, which saw Celtic win 5-0 to seal the league title. Thereafter, Rangers took a huff and slashed the allocation to just 750 tickets, which then dwindled to 0. Now, the allocation issue is appearing to gain traction on the other side of the city, who also want to have away fans at the biggest game in the country.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – APRIL 29: Tomas Rogic of Celtic celebrates after scoring his sides fourth goal with Mikael Lustig of Celtic during the Scottish Premier League match between Celtic and Rangers at Celtic Park on April 29, 2018 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Rodgers was asked about the scenes at the end of the Edinburgh Derby when Lawrence Shankland scored for Hearts in front of 4,000 Jambos at Easter Road.

“I don’t need that for confirmation. It was a great goal by Lawrence Shankland, to be fair, he is a fantastic finisher so it was great for the them. I didn’t need that to confirm, the game is about the supporters and to have that element of the away support there always adds to the game. Like I say, at Celtic Park, the noise that will be there tomorrow, I’m looking forward to it.”