No away fans at Old Firm matches this season, SPFL announce

There will be no away fans at Rangers and Celtic matches in SPFL competitions this season, it has been announced.

It comes after last season’s Scottish Cup quarter-final on March 8 was marred by fan disorder.

Police have made 47 arrests following the violence, which saw officers, supporters, members of coaching staff, and players assaulted.

The “temporary arrangement” for no away fans at Scottish Premiership or Premier Sports Cup games was announced on Friday, following talks between the Glasgow clubs and the Scottish Professional Football League.

‘Temporary arrangement’

The Old Firm clash in the Premier Sports Cup on September 13, with the rivals meeting at Celtic Park in the league a week later.

For the impending cup tie, Rangers had proposed a reduced away allocation of 300. However, Celtic rejected the offer.

The crowd disorder on March 8 came after a penalty shoot-out victory for Celtic, when around 8,000 visiting supporters had been present, which was a much larger allocation than recent Old Firm league derbies, due to a difference in ticketing rules for the Scottish Cup.

An independent review published last month concluded the incident came within a “very small margin” of becoming a violent mass confrontation.

The report, led by Mark Blackbourne, identified failings by both clubs and criticised the Scottish FA for not taking a tougher approach to crowd disorder.

At the end of August, both clubs were ordered to play their next Scottish Cup home games behind closed doors.

Following further discussions involving both clubs and the SPFL, an agreement has been reached that there will be no away supporters for any Old Firm matches in SPFL competitions for the remainder of the season.

It is said the arrangement will allow the clubs, SPFL, and Police Scotland to give “proper consideration” to the Independent Review.

An SPFL statement read: “This temporary arrangement will allow both clubs, together with the SPFL, Police Scotland and other relevant stakeholders, to give proper consideration to the findings and recommendations of the Independent Review, take forward the necessary actions and ensure sufficient time is available to plan future fixtures thoroughly.

“It will also provide greater certainty for supporters and those involved in matchday planning, while avoiding repeated uncertainty around ticketing arrangements for individual fixtures.

“All parties have committed to working constructively during this period, with safety and security remaining the priority.

“The position will remain subject to review should circumstances materially change during the season.

“Arrangements for matches between the clubs beyond the current season will be considered well in advance of the 2027/28 season.”

‘It was inevitable’

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill said the ban was “inevitable” after Rangers offered 300 away tickets for the upcoming cup tie.

Reacting to the fan ban, he said: “I think that was inevitable really after Rangers were offering 300 tickets, and I think we refused that.

“I think it was just inevitable that’s the decision that the powers would be, would make, eventually. Or made for them. It’s really sad, I must admit, just from a normal punter’s viewpoint.

“It’s still a great fixture, said this umpteen times, still look forward to it when I wasn’t involved. So yeah, really sad.

“Really disappointing we’ll see what develops over this season.

“Hopefully the two clubs get together at one stage or another and try and iron out the issues and the particular problems, but yeah, it’s not to say we haven’t had problems in the past, but they seem to have escalated over the last number of seasons, which is a problem.”