CELTIC have released a statement to explain their stance over the withdrawal of the away ticket allocation before the first Glasgow derby at Parkhead a fortnight on Sunday.
The Hoops hierarchy made the very valid point concerning the lack of “guarantees” over the champions’ trip to Ibrox on Thursday January 2 2025.
An initial agreement had been put in place to end the lock-out of rival fans and the Govan club were set to have supporters at the east end of Glasgow stadium for the match at the start of next month with a reciprocal arrangement for visiting fans in the first game of the New Year.
However, Celtic pulled the plug after insisting their Glasgow rivals had failed to meet the safety criteria. That, in turn, led to fans of the champions being banned from Ibrox, a stadium which is currently out of use with Philippe Clement’s side forced to play at Hampden.
FINAL CONFRONTATION…the teams take to the Hampden pitch for the Scottish Cup showpiece on May 25 with Celtic winning 1-0 to complete the league and Cup double.
In a bid to clear up the confusion, a Celtic statement read: “Across a number of months, Celtic has completed all necessary works with regard to accommodating away supporters for derby matches.
“Without a guarantee that our supporters could attend Ibrox in January, however, unfortunately we were not in a position to allocate tickets to away supporters at Celtic Park for the forthcoming match in September.
“We will continue to engage with all parties to seek a satisfactory solution.”
Earlier today, the SPFL said: “The presence of away fans is a vital ingredient of the passion, drama and excitement that is the hallmark of the William Hill Premiership.
“We are pleased that Rangers and Celtic are committed to achieving the return of away supporters to their derby matches as soon as possible.”
The last time the teams met was at a sell-out Hampden on May 25 when Rodgers’ men won 1-0 with a late goal from Adam Idah. There was an equal split of tickets between the clubs for that encounter.
There were no visiting supporters as the champions won three and drew one of the Premiership tussles.
