Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has publicly demanded that his club receive their full ticket allocation for next month's highly anticipated Scottish Cup quarter-final clash against arch-rivals Rangers at Ibrox Stadium. The draw has set the stage for a potential return of a traditional full stand of Celtic supporters, with the match scheduled around the weekend of March 7-8.
Ticket Allocation Rules and Police Authority
Under official Scottish Cup regulations, visiting clubs are entitled to claim up to 20 percent of available tickets, which translates to approximately 10,000 seats at Ibrox. However, the final decision rests with Police Scotland, as competition rules stipulate that the area designated for away fans must be agreed upon by both clubs and law enforcement, with strict adherence to stadium safety legislation.
Historical Context and Recent Changes
Traditionally, Celtic supporters occupied the Broomloan Stand at Ibrox, which offers around 7,500 seats. This arrangement was dramatically altered in May 2018 when Rangers reduced Celtic's allocation to just 750 tickets. This sparked a tit-for-tat dispute between the Old Firm rivals, leading to a period where away fans were completely absent from fixtures.
Last season, both clubs introduced a compromise, allowing away allocations of about five percent alongside enhanced security measures, including safety nets. O'Neill, however, is advocating for a full restoration on this occasion.
O'Neill's Passionate Appeal
"I don't know the club's official stance, but if you take me out of the club at this minute, just being a Celtic supporter, I would want all the tickets we can get, the allocation that's available to us under the rules," O'Neill stated. "I assume that would be forthcoming."
He elaborated on the importance of fan presence, saying, "I thought that the Old Firm fixture lost a little bit in the sense that the full allocation was not given, for whatever reason. I don't know historically what it was. I've got kind of an idea but it doesn't really matter."
"But I think that that did lose a little bit of one of the great fixtures in European football, if not the world. But at least there's some fans coming back and it makes a bit of a difference. To get the full allocation as we did... you know, going to Ibrox and having the side to the left full of Celtic fans was always gratifying."
Fixture Congestion Concerns
The draw results in Celtic facing four consecutive away matches, beginning with a trip to Stuttgart, followed by Aberdeen, and then two games at Ibrox. O'Neill expressed skepticism about the scheduling of the rearranged fixture at Pittodrie on March 4.
"I thought the Aberdeen fixture was stuck in there very, very quickly," he remarked. "They (the SPFL) don't want to have some postponements going into the split. I think that was their reason for it. But it was something that could have been considered, really, because it did mean an awful lot of away travelling for fans. It's going to be difficult to afford those particular fixtures."
Team News and Injury Updates
In other developments, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could feature in Wednesday's Premiership encounter with Livingston after completing his first two training sessions. O'Neill confirmed, "He's looking pretty good. I haven't picked the squad yet, but there's a possibility of that."
Regarding Kieran Tierney, who was substituted with a suspected concussion against Dundee, O'Neill provided an update: "I think he broke a bone in his nose. But he's okay and I think he wants to be available."
