Rangers will accept their away allocation for the final Old Firm meeting of the season, but are “deeply disappointed” the SPFL backed Celtic in the ticket row, insisting it sets a “concerning precedent”.
Celtic offered Rangers around 2,400 tickets for the 10 May Scottish Premiership fixture, on condition none of the seats would be made available to the Union Bears fans group.
Rangers said they could not agree to the terms and referred the matter to the SPFL board. A sub-committee concluded it would “not overrule” a risk assessment carried out by Celtic, who claim the Union Bears were in part responsible for disorder following the Scottish Cup quarter-final between the two clubs at Ibrox in March, which Celtic won on penalties.
Rangers have now confirmed the Union Bears “volunteered that they do not wish to be included within the club’s ticket allocation for this fixture”.
The club added: “This is a defining match at a crucial stage of the season, and it is important that Rangers supporters are present to back their team. We will therefore take up the allocation available to us.”
However, Rangers say the SPFL’s stance “sets a concerning precedent with potentially lasting consequences for the league and match-going fans, cutting across the spirit of the competition and disregarding the established agreement on away allocations between clubs”.
The Ibrox statement added: “Our club, our supporters and the reputation of Rangers will continue to be defended robustly while the Scottish FA’s independent process regarding the events on 8 March runs its course.”
The cup game was the fourth meeting of the sides this season at either Celtic Park or Ibrox to feature away supporters, following a period of no away allocations. However, the Scottish Cup tie had more away fans – 15% – because of the rules of that competition.