Alious
Celtic could be in line for a massive away support at Ibrox after being paired with Rangers in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup – all thanks to a quirk hidden within the competition’s rulebook.
Both sides booked their place in the last eight over the weekend, but in very different fashion. Celtic were pushed to the limit by Dundee, eventually edging past their Premiership rivals after extra time. Rangers, by contrast, cruised through with a thumping win over Championship outfit Queen’s Park, barely breaking sweat as they secured their spot.
The draw has now set up a mouth-watering Old Firm showdown, with Celtic due to make the short trip across Glasgow to Ibrox on either March 7 or March 8. While the fixture itself was always guaranteed to be box office, the scale of the travelling support could become one of the major talking points.
In recent seasons, away allocations for Old Firm matches were heavily restricted, with both clubs removing visiting supporters altogether. That stance softened last year, when Celtic and Rangers agreed to reintroduce away fans into each other’s stadiums. In the current Premiership campaign, Celtic have been allocated roughly 2,000 seats for league visits to Ibrox, in line with standard regulations.
League rules typically limit away allocations to around five per cent of a stadium’s total capacity. However, the Scottish Cup operates under a very different framework. Competition regulations allow the visiting club to request a significantly larger share of tickets – up to 20 per cent of the total attendance.
If Celtic choose to push the issue and receive approval from Rangers, the authorities and the police, that rule could open the door to an allocation of more than 10,000 Hoops supporters inside Ibrox. Such a scenario would dramatically alter the atmosphere for what is already one of the most intense fixtures in Scottish football.
There is recent precedent for this kind of increase. Last season, Hibernian found themselves in a similar position when drawn away to Celtic in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals. Initially handed a modest allocation of around 2,600 tickets, talks between the clubs eventually led to a dramatic rise. Hibs later confirmed they were granted more than 7,000 seats at Celtic Park – a figure vastly higher than what is normally permitted for league matches.
With that example in mind, Celtic now have a clear pathway to demand a far larger presence at Ibrox. Whether all parties sign off on it remains to be seen, but the rulebook certainly gives the Hoops a powerful argument ahead of what promises to be a blockbuster Scottish Cup encounter.
Alious
