Rangers have issued a statement saying they were informed on Wednesday "that Celtic will make no allocation for away fans for the September Old Firm game".

Celtic and Rangers will provide away fans with ticket allocations for the final two Scottish Premiership meetings of the season, the league's governing body has stated.

It follows decisions by the Glasgow clubs, announced by Rangers on Wednesday, to continue their ban on away supporters from the matches at Celtic Park in September and Ibrox in January.

The Scottish Professional Football League says it has now spoken to both clubs to confirm that is the case.

"Thereafter, Rangers and Celtic will provide ticket allocations of around 5% of respective stadium capacity for away supporters for SPFL matches between the two clubs," it says in a statement."

This remains subject to all necessary requirements being satisfied at both Ibrox and Celtic Park."

Celtic have clarified their stance in a website statement, pointing to the uncertainty over when Rangers will return to Ibrox after delays to renovation works to their Copland Stand forced a temporary move to Hampden Park.

"Across a number of months, Celtic has completed all necessary works with regard to accommodating away supporters for derby matches," they say.

"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."

An agreement had been reached in March between the SPFL and the two clubs to reintroduce away fans.

However, Rangers on Wednesday said they would not adhere to that in January after being informed of Celtic's decision for the September game.

"The allocation to be implemented by both clubs was clear and Rangers was taking all steps towards fulfilling that agreement," Rangers stated on their website.

"In the meantime, we can confirm that no away allocation will apply for the January Old Firm fixture at Ibrox. This is consistent with the reciprocity embedded in the agreement reached between the clubs and the SPFL."

Given the size of the respective stadiums, about 2,500 Celtic fans would have been able to visit Ibrox, with 3,000 Rangers supporters for games at Celtic Park.

An SPFL spokesperson added: "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."

Rangers ended the long-standing convention of allowing 7,500 Celtic fans into Ibrox in 2018 and reduced that to around 10% of that total, with Celtic following suit.

Eventually, neither club accepted tickets for each other's grounds for safety reasons, leading to the SPFL intervention.

Original article published 16.08.2024 on the BBC Sport website.

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