Celtic Football Club have drastically reduced the away tickets available to Rangers fans for the Derby game at Celtic Park on September 2, in response to Rangers decision to cut away allocation for Ibrox.
In a critical statement, Celtic have hit out at Rangers who they claim took the decision without "any form of discussion." In previous years the away allocation was closer to 7000 fans.
This is not a development we welcome and it is unfortunate that the initial decision came without any form of discussion. The previous arrangements worked well for both sets of supporters as well as contributing to the status of the fixture as a sporting occasion.
Following the unilateral action by Rangers, we cannot allow our own supporters to be doubly penalised, by having access to the away fixture reduced so dramatically, while not being offered the opportunity to maximise our own support at Celtic Park.
The rules of the SPFL call for ‘reasonable’ provision to be made for visiting supporters, without being specific on numbers. Within that context, we would welcome further discussions involving the two clubs and the SPFL.
Celtic’s decision relates, at this stage, to the match on September 2, 2018.
Ibrox officials had announced earlier this year they would be cutting away allocation due to demand from their own fans for tickets.
