The Glasgow Derby will be better for the lack of away supporters in the ground reckons former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan. For the second successive meeting between Celtic and theRangers there will be no away supporters at the match which this time takes place at Celtic Park a week on Saturday.
Back in September Celtic refused to take around 700 tickets for the away corner at Ibrox amid safety concerns for the Celtic support, with seven Celtic supporters having been injured by bottle and glass throwing in previous matches. In fact theRangers agreed that the away corner was in its present form is unsafe for Celtic supporters and are looking at adding nets – a case of keeping the animals out.
While they failed to do the necessary work at their own stadium to allow Celtic to sell tickets with a reasonable level of safety assured, theRangers nevertheless demanded their own away allocation for the game at Celtic Park on 30 December, and that was not something that Celtic were ever going to agree to.
Yesterday it was statement o’clock with theRangers squealing about in their opinion winning their argument with some SPFL sub-committee but still not getting any tickets, something to do with Celtic not playing ball with the committee who therefore couldn’t determine what a fair allocation would be. Shame that and well played Celtic.
Here’s theRangers statement as published on their official website yesterday…
“Despite winning a case put to an SPFL Board Sub-Committee, Rangers FC (sic), with extreme disappointment, will not have any supporters present at Parkhead (Celtic Park) for the Old Firm (Glasgow Derby) match on December 30.
The Sub-Committee agreed with (the)Rangers that Celtic FC’s stance of providing zero tickets to (the)Rangers’ fans was unreasonable.
Despite the fact that the Sub-Committee agreed with (the)Rangers, the Sub-Committee was unwilling to determine what a ‘reasonable’ number of tickets for the fixture would be.
The Sub-Committee was unable to determine this reasonable number due to the fact that the other party (Celtic!) had not submitted enough evidence on this issue, despite having ample opportunity to do so in the weeks and months leading up to the hearing.
(the)Rangers’ position has always been clear. We want away fans from all clubs at our stadium and wish for that to be reciprocated when we travel to other clubs’ grounds (no mention of their own admission that Ibrox is unsafe for Celtic supporters as things currently stand).
This decision calls into question the effectiveness, and highlights the procedural defects, of SPFL Rule I27 (Does it? Aye!).
To (the)Rangers, it is grossly unfair that if a club (in this case Celtic) fails to submit sufficient evidence as part of such proceedings, it effectively ties the hands of a Sub-Committee in being able to determine what a reasonable number of tickets should be; especially when the Sub-Committee agrees that the reasonable number cannot be zero.
Conversely, if a club (in this case (the)Rangers) complies fully and provides all necessary information in good faith, it can still be penalised.
The club will consider its position before participating in any further SPFL led hearings.
(the)Rangers, alongside several other SPFL clubs, also looks forward to the overdue findings of the ongoing, protracted SPFL Governance review.
(the)Rangers will be making no further comment at this time.”
Raging again, aren’t they? Shameless too, not once did they mention the serious assaults on Celtic supporters and staff that has happened inside their ground or the criminal convictions that have result in some of their supporters serving sentences at one of Chaz’s gaffs, probably Barlinnie.
Celtic also got in on the fun by releasing a statement of their own. The initial draft of ‘GIRUY’ was replaced by the following, effectively saying the same thing…Via the official Celtic website, the club said:
“Given the recent serious safety and match-day issues which our fans have experienced at fixtures at Ibrox and Celtic Park, Celtic’s position on this matter has been very clear.
Celtic welcomes the opportunity to seek to resolve these important issues, and it was a hearing for which the Club was very well-prepared.
We are pleased that the sub-committee recognised the importance of safety and match-day experience issues in considering the question of a reasonable allocation for both fixtures.
While respecting the ongoing process, Celtic stands by its decision not to allocate any tickets for away supporters for the match on 30 December.
Celtic will continue to focus on the importance of safety and match-day experience issues as we look to address reasonable allocations at Celtic Park and Ibrox from next year, in a responsible manner.”
Meanwhile Gordon Strachan today talked about the upcoming Glasgow Derby at Celtic Park and is not bothered in the slightest that there will be no away fans, in fact he reckons it’s preferable.
“It is going to be noisy, aggressive and nasty,” Strachan said to Boyle Sports. “Anyone who hasn’t been already, you need to go and see it.
“It is exhilarating at times but sad at times when you listen to the songs. There are no away supporters this time, which some people think is a bad thing but I actually think it is a positive. We don’t need to give a platform sometimes for the people and we need that nonsense out of the game.”
