Exclusive: Rangers hit with indirect financial penalty after Old Firm controversy
Rangers have been punished by the Scottish FA due to the large-scale pyrotechnics display in their Premier Sports Cup matches at Hampden Park at the back-end of last year.
It was confirmed on Wednesday (5 March) that the Gers have been hit with a suspended sanction until March 2027 of 800 tickets for future Premier Sports Cup matches at Hampden due to the pyrotechnic display against Motherwell in November.
And due to the same sort of incident against Celtic in the final in December, they’ve also had an immediate reduction of 500 tickets for their next League Cup game at the national stadium.
Celtic have received the same punishment as Rangers while Motherwell have been hit with the same suspended sanction.
Rangers to be hit financially by ticket reduction
Keith Hackett believes the SFA have taken a hard-line stance on the issues that revolved around Rangers, Celtic and Motherwell at Hampden Park earlier this season.
The former Premier League and FIFA-listed referee has backed their decision and believes that it’ll teach both fans and the clubs lessons to curb the behaviour in the future.
“It is obvious from the decision by the Scottish FA disciplinary panel that they take their role very seriously,” Hackett told Ibrox News.
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Second Round | St Johnstone (H) | 2-0 W |
| Quarter-finals | Dundee (H) | 3-0 W |
| Semi-finals | Motherwell (N) | 2-1 W |
| Final | Celtic (N) | 3-3 AET (7-8 penalties) L |
“They have dealt with decisive action to state clearly that they will not accept the use of pyrotechnics in their stadiums
“The Scottish FA disciplinary panel, by reducing the number of tickets, will punish the fans who will not be able to attend the game and the club, who will miss out on revenue from ticket sales.”
Rangers have to clamp down
It’s hard to see what more the Light Blues can do other than continually warn their fans against using pyrotechnics at matches.
However, one thing they can do is start finding out individuals and dishing out their own bans at Ibrox.
While they create great specatcles, it’s becoming a regular occurance for pyros to delay matches, which is something that broadcasters will not tolerate.