- 2,400 briefs available to Rangers supporters for upcoming Celtic Park clash
- Managers agree return of visiting fans adds to Old Firm spectacle
Brendan Rodgers and Barry Ferguson both hope the restoration of away allocations by Celtic and Rangers will eventually see a return to the days when 7,500 visiting fans attended the derby fixture.
The Glasgow rivals have confirmed that each will hand over approximately four per cent of their allocation for the season’s two remaining Old Firm clashes.
After six years of reduced — and zero — away supports attending the games, an agreement was brokered by the SPFL last year.
However, the impasse continued due to Celtic’s concerns over Rangers not carrying out necessary safety work in time.
With Ibrox now capable of safely housing roughly 2,000 Celtic supporters for the final meeting after the split, the Parkhead club will hand over around 2,400 briefs to Rangers fans when the sides meet in the East End on March 16.
While both managers welcomed the news, they expressed a desire to see the situation move closer to the days when between 7,500 and 8,000 visiting fans routinely attended.
2,400 tickets have been allocated to Rangers fans for trip to Celtic Park later this month
Brendan Rodgers says return of visiting supporters in large numbers will improve spectacle
Barry Ferguson believes that the latest ticket agreement is a step in the right direction
‘It’s a big part of the fixture,’ said Celtic boss Rodgers. ‘Having been involved in it with the supporters there, both home and away, and then obviously them being taken away, then it does make a difference.
‘So it’s great for everyone. Great for the game, great for the spectacle of the game, and obviously ultimately for the supporters. They get the chance to see their team, which is great.
‘Football, as we know, is about the rivalry and there’s arguably no greater rivalry than Celtic vs Rangers in world football.
‘There’s many great derbies, of course, but this one being the exceptional one. It’s just good to have both sets of supporters in and, for the game itself, it always adds to the spectacle.
‘We just have to get the supporters back in the stadium again. That was the start point and then hopefully it can get somewhere near to what it was before, because that always created an amazing atmosphere.’
Rangers interim head coach Ferguson, who played in the days when Rangers fan would occupy around 14 per cent of Celtic Park, also felt the development was a significant step in the right direction.
‘It’ll be good that the fans will be at Celtic Park,’ he said. ‘I’ve always said it’s something that the fixtures miss.
‘In an ideal situation, it would be great if there was more. The way it is, the way it’s happened, the number of tickets we are getting, I’m just glad that away supporters are allowed back. In time, we’ll wait and see, but at least it’s a start.’
Disagreements over away allocations first surfaced in 2018 when Rangers tore up the long-standing convention that saw about 7,500 fans travel across the city on derby days, with the figure reduced to around 10 per cent of that total.
Celtic then followed suit in what became a tit-for-tat ticket war, with a total lock-out of fans commonplace in recent years due to concerns over safety.
