SPFL decision on Celtic vs Rangers away allocation revealed

It comes after Celtic insisted their rivals couldn't sell tickets to ultras group the Union Bears following the recent disorder at Ibrox. Rangers rejected this and were told they wouldn't be getting any tickets as a result.

The matter was referred to the SPFL and a meeting was held yesterday, with the final decision announced today.

An SPFL statement read: "On Friday 24 April, Rangers requested that the SPFL Board determine the away ticket allocation for the William Hill Premiership match between Celtic and Rangers at Celtic Park on Sunday 10 May.

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"This followed discussions between the two clubs failing to reach agreement on the ticketing arrangements for the match. As both clubs have noted publicly, Celtic offered Rangers an allocation of tickets broadly amounting to 5% of the stadium, subject to an additional condition. Rangers rejected that condition and referred the matter to the SPFL Board.

"A hearing took place on Thursday 30 April in front of an independent SPFL Board Sub-Committee during which both clubs presented evidence and legal arguments. The Sub-Committee noted the following:

It was extremely regrettable that the two clubs had been unable to reach an agreement between themselves

A reciprocal agreement is in place between the two clubs which provides that each club should allocate around 5% of their stadium to the away club

The home club in SPFL Matches is responsible for safety and security in terms of SPFL Rule H36

The last match between the two clubs (in the Scottish Cup) featured widespread disorder and led to the governing body for Scottish football, the Scottish FA, announcing an independent review into the match. That report has not yet been published, and the Sub-Committee was therefore in a position where it did not have the benefit of any lessons to be learned from that match when considering the matter

The referral to the SPFL Board for a determination was made just 16 days before an important league fixture at a time of intense scrutiny on the Scottish game

Celtic, as the party responsible for the safety and security of the event, had imposed an additional condition on the distribution of away tickets that it considered necessary and proportionate for managing safety and security

Subject to that condition being agreed, Celtic remains willing to offer the amount of tickets to Rangers that they had undertaken to provide in their reciprocal agreement and that allocation remains available to Rangers

"The Sub-Committee then determined that, based on the evidence presented, it would not overrule a risk assessment carried out by the party legally responsible for the safety and security of the event, or interfere with the mitigation measures it considered to be necessary to comply with SPFL Rule H36. Having reached that conclusion, the Sub-Committee confirmed that 5% of the stadium was a reasonable allocation for this fixture in terms of SPFL Rule I27."

An SPFL spokesperson added: “We note the decision of the independent Sub-Committee. We have been consulting with all clubs for months regarding the rules in this area and had achieved consensus that the current deadline of 14 days before a match for a referral to the SPFL Board is insufficient to allow a proper forensic analysis of the circumstances. Following discussion at the SPFL’s Rules & Regulations Working Group, we had intended to table a resolution at the June AGM to bring forward the deadline to 35 days prior to a fixture and will now take time to reflect on this decision.”

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