SPFL rule I27 could also be changed to ensure a minimum percentage of tickets are made available to away supporters in the Glasgow grounds.
The away fan lockout for Old Firm matches could come to an end for Celtic’s trip to Ibrox.
The champions have reportedly entered talks with Rangers and could be offered an allocation of 750 briefs for the Premiership clash on April 6. That’s despite the Hoops hierarchy citing “safety concerns” when knocking back around 700 tickets for the first meeting of the season back in September. But now the Times reports that both are back around the table to try and thrash out a solution that would see a small number of away punters back through the turnstiles, with the SPFL urging the quarrelling rivals to resolve the issue.
There were no Rangers fans at Parkhead for December’s 2-1 defeat as the ticket stalemate between the Glasgow giants continued into this season. Both have played derbies with no travelling support since last term and have been criticised for diluting the atmosphere in Scottish football’s showpiece fixture. By contrast, the Edinburgh derby has stuck with their policy of full away allocations despite Hearts cutting them for every other league rival.
The report also states that there could be an eventual change to SPFL ticketing rules. They currently stipulate that clubs must make a “reasonable number” of tickets available to away fans. However, it’s claimed Celtic’s refusal to offer Gers any for their 2-1 December victory was deemed reasonable given the short notice at which the Govan outfit made their request.
Going forward, however, regulations could be ripped up and rewritten. One amendment to rule 127 could be that any club with a capacity of over 30,000 – currently only Celtic and Rangers – must make 2.5 per cent of of their seats available to travelling fans. That would mean a minimum of 1,500 tickets at Parkhead and and 1,250 for Ibrox.
That would still represent an increase on what the ten other clubs currently get in Glasgow for league games. The average is around 600, although some clubs still take far less than that and don’t sell out their allocations.
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