Callum McGregor says away fans returning to Celtic v Rangers Old Firm derby will be good for Scottish football

Callum McGregor has welcomed the news that away fans will return to the Old Firm game for the first time in over two years.

Around 2,500 Rangers fans will be at the game at Celtic Park next month with a similar number of Hoops fans set to attend Ibrox after the split.

The last time the derby had away supporters present was in January 2023 when under 1,000 Celtic fans were in attendance for a 2-2 draw at Ibrox.

Both clubs announced on Friday that an agreement had been reached to allocate 4% of each stadium to visiting supporters going forward, meaning more away fans will be at the March 16 game than any Old Firm since 2018.

The Celtic captain says that will help maximise the spectacle of the game and can only benefit Scottish football by adding to the atmosphere in one of the world’s most famous fixtures.

Speaking to the media, McGregor said: “It’s a step forward to where we we’ve been, it will add to the atmosphere, the game and everything else so I think it’s a positive step forward, so let’s hope that the experience is a good one and then we can see where we can get to with that.

“I always think it’s better when both sets of supporters are in the stadium. It adds to the spectacle and I think it’s overall a good thing.

“Hopefully everyone will behave themselves properly and then we take it from there.

“It’s always more difficult when you go there (Ibrox) with no away supporters and it becomes a bit of a siege mentality, so it will be good to have a few more supporters there next time.”

Up until seven years ago every Old Firm had around 7,500 away fans before Rangers decided to cut that number to around 700 and Celtic followed suit.

The last eight meetings have been played in front of home fans only, but McGregor insists he would like to see it return to the old allocations.

He said: “It was obviously a while ago now (7,500 away fans) but it was great, the atmosphere generally in the stadium and during the game, it created a real buzz about the place.

“It’s a big fixture and we want to try and maximise it as much as possible. Every game that is on the TV we want to show the best version of Scottish football and that includes the supporters as well. If we can make it a really good spectacle then more people will watch and buy into it etc, so it can only be a good thing for the game.”