Chris Sutton was always going to have his say in his Saturday newspaper column after Brendan Rodgers spoke so candidly yesterday afternoon at Lennoxtown, hitting the nail on the head when talking about the causes of the ongoing away ticket fiasco at Glasgow Derbies.
๐ฃ๏ธ “๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐๐ถ๐ฐ-๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด.”
Brendan Rodgers with a passionate response to the news there will be no away fans at the first two Old Firm league games this season โคต๏ธ pic.twitter.com/kfqf9CzzPu
โ Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) August 16, 2024
Rodgers in pointing out the truth has left the hacks with no-place to go on this one and if you look at theRangers fans reactions, then it’s pretty clear that they know it’s game, set and match Rodgers on this myth.
And there are plenty of other myths that Brendan has up his sleeve for later in the season! The reaction from Celtic supporters was covered on The Celtic Star earlier today. Here’s Sutton’s take on the last instalment of a saga that has been running since the aftermath of Celtic’s brilliant 3-2 win at Ibrox in March 2018, which this site termed as a ‘Beautiful Sunday’.
Ten man Celtic clinching a memorable win at Ibrox. With Simunovic red carded, most expected a defender to be brought on but Rodgers brought on Odsonne Edouard and it paid off… pic.twitter.com/f4h9CuM2NU
โ Lisbon Lion (@tirnaog_09) April 6, 2024
“The latest battle in the Celtic and Rangers away ticket war has led to the usual finger pointing and blame game,” Sutton writes in Daily Record today. “Itโs a shame we are back in this mess again after getting the hopes up this fixture was returning to some sort of normality. Yet, here we are, facing another away fans shut out at Celtic Park next month and the same again at Ibrox at New Year. Itโs far from ideal, but Iโve got to say I can see where Celtic are coming from over this.
“If Rangers canโt be straight with their own fans, how can they take their word at face value when it comes to Celtic supporters? It looks to me the agreement reached last March was on the provision that certain safety measures were made in the wake of previous problems,” Sutton notes.
“Celtic have held up their side of the bargain and got the planning permission and the work done ahead of the first derby. But what about Rangers? I get the fact the return game is months away and thereโs still time to sort it.
“Unless there are plans set in stone, though, then how can Celtic know for sure they will be carried out? After all, this is a Rangers board who canโt even tell their own supporters if they will even be back at Ibrox by that point. So theyโd be telling the Celtic board, โtrust us, itโll be alright on the nightโ. I donโt think so.
“Everyone knows my stance on all of this. Iโd like a return to the traditional allocations because itโs the atmosphere created by the fans that makes it as a spectacle. Itโs taken a hit in recent years and at a time when Scottish football is fighting for attention, we shouldnโt be damaging the product,” Sutton said.
Perhaps a point that has not been made is that this and other ticket allocation issues is a result of many factors but one of the most significant is Celtic’s trophy haul over the past few decades. Since 2012 Celtic has won 12 from 13 titles with the only one lost happening during the covid season where fans were excluded from games.
Celtic winning so many titles and cups – five trebles in that period and numerous doubles too – is seeing a reaction, from Ibrox and many other grounds where the supporters of other teams are fed up seeing Celtic win at their place and the Celtic support enjoying every minute of it. Clubs like Hearts, St Mirren, Hibs and others are preferring empty seats rather than providing Celtic support with the traditional allocation.
And of course Brendan Rodgers pointed to this yesterday concerning the cause of the ongoing Glasgow Derby controversy regarding away tickets. TheRangers support reacted to continual Celtic victories at Ibrox than left the green with envy…
