Rangers and Celtic talk of Scottish Cup ban called ‘nonsense’ as only real deterrent now suggested
Calls to ban Rangers and Celtic from the Scottish Cup next season have been branded as “nonsense” despite the chaos that ensued from the latest Old Firm derby.
Police Scotland confirmed that arrests had been made following the pitch invasion at Ibrox following Rangers’ Scottish Cup quarter-final loss to rivals Celtic last Sunday.
Supporters from both clubs got caught up in ugly post-match scenes, with Chief Superintendent Emma Croft believing that Celtic’s enlarged 7,500 allocation had an impact on the trouble.
Recent allocations have varied from zero up to 2,500, but Scottish Cup rules dictate that away teams can claim up to 20 per cent of tickets, and a deal was reached with the Scottish Football Association (SFA).
Amid some calling for Rangers and Celtic to be kicked out of the competition next season, Hugh Keevins believes this is the wrong course of action.
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Scottish FA told to ban Old Firm away fans
For the first time since 2018, Celtic fans were given the full Broomloan Road Stand allocation at Ibrox as they beat Rangers 4-2 on penalties to progress to the Scottish Cup semi-finals.
Investigations soon got underway after the pitch invasion.
Moreover, some Celtic fans broke into the stadium without tickets and left graffiti behind, including making references to the 1971 Ibrox disaster.
Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan believes that banning big away followings won’t tackle the root cause of this issue, but columnist Keevins strongly disagreed. He did, however, insist that the two Scottish giants should still be in the hat for next season’s competition.
He wrote in the Daily Record: “Talk of banning Rangers and Celtic from the Scottish Cup next season is nonsense. Trouble demands a deterrent that is lasting – and there are four league derbies to be negotiated every season, outwith cup games.
“The only deterrent able to offer immunity from confrontation and the avoidance of catastrophic mishap inside Celtic Park or Ibrox is exclusion of away fans.”
It remains to be seen what will come of this for the next time Rangers take on Celtic.
Pressure ramps up on Rangers boss Danny Rohl
Rangers return to Scottish Premiership action on Sunday lunchtime away to St. Mirren, with Danny Rohl’s side desperate to claim all three points.
A window of opportunity has presented itself to Rangers and Celtic, after Hearts suffered a shock 1-0 loss to Kilmarnock on Saturday.
Celtic duly took the opportunity to close the gap on the league leaders as they eased past 10-man Motherwell to close to within two points of Derek McInnes’ side.
Rangers are six points back from Hearts, but that will be down to three if they win their game in hand against St. Mirren.
Rohl has done a good job at Rangers since taking over from Russell Martin in October, after the former Southampton boss was sacked just 17 games into his tenure.
The Gers were 13 points adrift from the top back then, and in February, that closed to two, before a couple of damaging results saw them drop back a tad.
Questions are beginning to be asked of Rohl after throwing away a two-goal lead over Celtic on 1 March and then losing to them in the cup a week later.
If Rangers fail to win on Sunday, that could be the end of their title bid. A win, though, will make this title race even more intriguing.
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