Simon Jordan accuses Rangers and Celtic of being ‘stupid, banal, childish’ after Old Firm clash
The SPFL should enforce Rangers and Celtic obligations on away fans and end the “stupid, banal, childish” fight between the two, says Simon Jordan.
There was no contingent of away fans at Celtic Park on Wednesday night after both Old Firm clubs have moved to restrict visiting supporters over recent years.
Gers managing director Stewart Robertson last month told The Athletic podcast that he did not expect things to change, saying, via Football Scotland: “The vast majority of our fans don’t want it to change, they are comfortable with it.”
But the situation has come under increasing criticism, and this week’s dramatic game has only caused more, with Jim White saying live on talkSPORT on Thursday morning (February 3): “Again I emphasise, Rangers fans should have been there.”
In the conversation posted on the station’s YouTube channel, pundit Jordan responded: “If you look at the SPFL rules it is actually their gift to enforce these obligations upon attendances, so I don’t quite understand why they aren’t.
“I don’t understand why they’re just allowing this stupid, banal, childish Mexican standoff of people not being prepared to let the other team’s fans come in.
“These two clubs are the poster boys for Scottish football, they need to pull their socks up and get their act together.”
Weakens competition
Celtic fans will hardly care after this week’s action but Gers players might have an argument that some support from the stands would have helped as they wilted in the face of the first half battering.
As professionals, they should of course be able to perform better than they did, but there is surely something lacking from the competition aspect if away fans are artificially held back.
The rivalry between the two sides is what makes the match one of the biggest derbies in the world, and the fans are a huge part of that.
Ibrox bosses controversially decided to cut the away allocation in 2018, leading to a tit-for-tat response from those at Parkhead.
And the claim now is that it would be too hard to undo the moves as the gap was filled with home season tickets.
Surely at some point however the league authorities will step in and force a reversal, as the spectacle of the match is poorer for it.
In other Rangers news, there was one bright spot for the Light Blues on Wednesday that had the Sky Sports pundits wowed.