Old Firm away ticket scramble to continue for Rangers and Celtic fans
Rangers and Celtic fans are set to scramble once again for away tickets for Old Firm games in the new season, as reported by the Glasgow Herald.
Talks are yet to take place between the clubs, to resume negotiations after two of last season’s encounters were played in front of a partisan crowd with no away supporters at the 3-2 win for Celtic at Parkhead in April as well as in Michael Beale’s first derby victory as manager of the Gers, in the 3-0 victory in May.
The fixtures for the 2023/24 Premiership season will be announced on Friday 30 June with top-level talks between the clubs and the authorities set to follow.
The report from Chris Jack for the Herald came after comments from Ibrox chief James Bisgrove regarding arrangements for the new campaign.
“Discussions between the clubs and key stakeholders, such as the SPFL and Police Scotland, have still to take place and Rangers will want guarantees that any allocation for the first fixture would be reciprocated when they make the trip to the east end later in the season,” he said
“James Bisgrove, the Rangers chief executive, addressed the subject of Old Firm allocations during a fans forum session at New Edmiston House on Wednesday evening and admitted it would be very unlikely that there will ever be a return to the previous 8,000-strong away crowds that helped make the fixture famous around the world.”
Resolution
As intimated in the article by Jack, the current situation means there will be no return to the ‘old allocation’ anytime soon, but the status quo does a disservice to the traditions of the derby, its history and the status of the rivalry between the foes in Glasgow.
A sensible compromise, as mentioned, has to be the introduction of a European-style allocation for away fans at Old Firm games which would mean 5% of the capacity would be given up for the visitors.
There is no solution that will please the vast majority as fan opinion is split between those who want the previous arrangement to return, those who want some kind of compromise in terms of numbers and then plenty who don’t want a single rival fan in the stadium for the big game.
The debate will rumble on, ahead of the first meeting of the Old Firm next season, likely to be around late August or early September, before the international break.
In other Rangers news, ‘Solid’ – the national media react to this Ibrox duo after chaotic win on Monday