The SPFL finally broke their silence last night on the dispute over tickets for the final Old Firm derby of the season — with the verdict falling in Celtic’s favour.
It means that Rangers’ Union Bears ultras will not be permitted to attend next weekend’s pivotal clash away at Celtic Park.
Celtic had stipulated that they would only make the allocation of 2,200 away tickets available to Rangers under the agreement that they were not sold to the Union Bears.
That move stemmed from the shameful violence and disorder witnessed at the end of the Scottish Cup game at Ibrox back in March.
Celtic supporters invaded the pitch after their team had won via a penalty shootout, with the Union Bears then charging on to the pitch to retaliate.
Rangers rejected that stipulation from Celtic and the matter was subsequently referred to the league’s governing body.
Celtic’s Scottish Cup quarter-final triumph at Ibrox was followed by horrific on-pitch scenes
After deliberating all week, with an SPFL sub-committee hearing the case on Thursday, it was finally announced last night that the original proviso from Celtic will be allowed to stand.
A thoroughly unedifying affair on all fronts going back to that Scottish Cup tie in March, the row over tickets now looks set to rumble on.
Rangers now have the decision to either accept the terms laid out by Celtic or completely refuse the allocation.
If no away fans are present, it is understood that Celtic would not sell the tickets to their own supporters, with that section of the stadium instead being left empty.
Although they failed to deliver a definitive verdict either way, the SPFL declined to overrule Celtic on the matter amid safety concerns, citing the fact an independent review into the Scottish Cup shame game is still ongoing.
The governing body also cited the fact that the matter had been raised at relatively short notice, claiming that they did not have sufficient time to weigh up all relevant evidence.
The Old Firm rivals will clash at Parkhead next Sunday in the final derby of the season, with the teams locked together with Hearts in the title race.
A number of security personal were hurt as fans from both sides rampaged on the Ibrox pitch
As per SPFL regulations, neither side can appeal the decision.
A statement from the SPFL read: ‘Celtic, as the party responsible for the safety and security of the event, had imposed an additional condition on the distribution of away tickets that it considered necessary and proportionate for managing safety and security.
‘Subject to that condition being agreed, Celtic remains willing to offer the amount of tickets to Rangers that they had undertaken to provide in their reciprocal agreement and that allocation remains available to Rangers.
‘The sub-committee then determined that, based on the evidence presented, it would not overrule a risk assessment carried out by the party legally responsible for the safety and security of the event, or interfere with the mitigation measures it considered to be necessary to comply with SPFL Rule H36.
‘Having reached that conclusion, the sub-committee confirmed that five per cent of the stadium was a reasonable allocation for this fixture in terms of SPFL Rule I27.’
An SPFL spokesperson said: ‘We note the decision of the independent sub-committee. We have been consulting with all clubs for months regarding the rules in this area and had achieved consensus that the current deadline of 14 days before a match for a referral to the SPFL Board is insufficient to allow a proper forensic analysis of the circumstances.
‘Following discussion at the SPFL’s Rules & Regulations Working Group, we had intended to table a resolution at the June AGM to bring forward the deadline to 35 days prior to a fixture and will now take time to reflect on this decision.’
Rangers and Celtic were both approached for comment.
