Ibrox chairman Andrew Cavenagh has spoken publicly about the club’s ongoing disagreements with Celtic surrounding away ticket allocations and alleged stadium damage from recent Glasgow derby clashes.
Tensions escalated ahead of the final Glasgow derby of the Premiership season after Celtic introduced conditions regarding the allocation of away tickets for the fixture at Celtic Park.
The Ibrox club later confirmed they would not agree to restrictions involving the Union Bears supporters group, prompting fears that visiting fans could be locked out entirely.
The matter was eventually referred to the SPFL, which ruled in Celtic’s favour, although Cavenagh insists the Ibrox club challenged the issue on wider principles rather than solely for competitive reasons.
Speaking to STV, he said: “Celtic gave us notice that they intended to either exclude all of our fans if we didn’t agree to not give tickets to some sections of our fans.
“We fought that, and we fought it on principle. The two principles we were fighting were that one club should not be able to tell another club which of their fans can come to a match, and we also didn’t think that a club should create a sporting advantage through that.
“We took that to the SPFL, we got the decision against us, and we have now asked the SPFL to release the materials that were submitted by both clubs, as well as the decision.
“We think that’s incredibly important, as we talk about the right allocations going forward, it is important that all the clubs, the public, and maybe even the government see the basis of that decision.”
Separate discussions are also continuing regarding damage caused at Ibrox following Celtic supporters occupying the full Broomloan Stand during April’s derby encounter.
The Ibrox side are reportedly seeking compensation, with the club claiming repair costs exceed £1 million.
Addressing that issue via The Herald, Cavenagh said: “I think the basics are known. We think the damage caused by their supporters is roughly £1.3m.
“We have asked them to pay for that, there’s a dispute over that, but we won’t get into tit-for-tat via the media.
“We’ll have that conversation with Celtic and the league and SFA. We’ve suffered extensive damage and expect to be remedied for that.
“There are multiple avenues for that. There are rules but also ways to arbitrate and seek recovery for that.”
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1 Comment
Ask Rangers FC why they want Celtic to pay for damage to Ibrox, but refuse to pay Livingston FC for the clean up, and repairs to Almondvale stadium caused by the Rangers fans.