The Old Firm derby is one of the biggest occasions in all of football. You are guaranteed fireworks whenever Celtic and Rangers take to the pitch in the fixture, with no shortage of full blooded moments down through the years.
Their meetings are certainly the highlight of the Scottish footballing calendar and usually go a long way towards deciding who will be claiming domestic honours in a given season.
However, this year is set to see a much lower stakes meeting between the two clubs.
It has been announced that Celtic will face Rangers in a friendly match in November, with the game set to be held in Australia as part of the Sydney Super Cup during the break in the campaign for the World Cup in Qatar. The fixture will be a major money spinner for both teams, with a huge crowd expected to descend upon the 83,000-capacity Accor Stadium on the day.
Celtic legend not convinced by Old Firm friendly
However, not all are convinced that it is a good idea. Many have claimed that the two great rivals facing off in a friendly match could dilute the importance of the old firm rivalry, with Peter Grant among that group.
Speaking on BBC's Sportsound, the former midfielder, who made almost 500 appearances for Celtic across a 15-year spell at the club, said he could not imagine having to face off against Rangers in a non-competitive fixture.
It’s about financial reasons. You don’t want to dilute it in any shape or form.
Celtic and Rangers have supporters all around the world anyway. With all the Asian Cups with the Premier League, it was about trying to get supporters.
Celtic and Rangers already have those supporters. I understand about fans getting to see their teams but they could have played someone else.
There is no such thing as a friendly and I don’t want it getting diluted. You don’t need to be playing Rangers on the other side of the world.
I’d have cried if I had to play a friendly against Rangers.
Regardless of the mixed reception it has received, this fixture looks set to go ahead regardless.
As both clubs look to raise their revenue streams, we can probably expect to see friendlies between the pair become a lot more common in the future.
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