Scott Brown yesterday spoke of his disappointment that Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup quarter-final at Ibrox between the Rangers and Celtic is to be played with no away support at the game.
That’s due principally to the mask thugs within the home support and the failure of the latest Ibrox club to properly manage their stadium with an sizeable away allocation present…
A sizeable away allocation worked well at Ibrox and Celtic Park for decades
Say what you like about the old Rangers but they knew home to handle these games and the two Glasgow clubs pretty much always maintained the sizeable ticket allocation for the away club at both Ibrox and Celtic Park.
David Murray did a bit of grandstanding in the 1990s by banning the Celtic support from a match at Ibrox due to some broke seats. Not that it worked out too well for the man who ultimately would go onto destroy Rangers.
Toilets trashed at Celtic Park in September 2016
When the reformed Rangers, following the liquidation of the old club, made their way up through the divisions to reach the Scottish Premiership for the first time, they came to Celtic Park a decade ago yesterday, as featured on Celtic Shorts yesterday, and Celtic absolutely destroyed them.
That wasn’t all that was destroyed that day. The away toilets at Celtic Park were trashed by the new generation of Ibrox thugs. Mistakenly Celtic wanted to play by the old ‘Old Firm’ rules. The matter would be hushed up, the toilets repaired and the bill would be sent to Rangers. That’s the way that they worked.
I remember sitting on the supporters bus after that game and receiving photos of the damage caused by the Rangers fans that day and these were shared widely by Celtic supporters. I think it was a steward who shared these photographs initially, much to the allowance of Celtic.
It should have been abundantly clear after that to Celtic that they were dealing with a very different animal. They penny eventually dropped and Celtic now are playing an away cup tie – disgracefully – away from home with no supporters present mainly due to the failures of the current Ibrox club to stage the fixture and allowing their mask thugs carte blanche to act as they like inside their stadium and on their pitch.
Scottish FA’s punishment
Celtic have had a £100k fine imposed and will have to play their next Scottish Cup home tie behind closed doors, widening the punishment to tens of thousands of Celtic season ticket holders who were nowhere near Ibrox back in March 2026 when the Rangers fans entered the pitch wearing masked and armed with weapons and flares to attack celebrating Celtic supporters – who should NOT have been on the pitch.
Scott Brown yesterday reflected on this ban at a Premier Sports mainstream media event to promote Sunday’s abomination of a football match.
“I understand why, but it’s disappointing not to see the 8,000 fans that we used to get because the atmosphere was brilliant and there wasn’t that much trouble back when I played,” the former Celtic captain stated, as reported by Glasgow Times.
“It’s losing the passion,” Broony admitted. “Football is the biggest thing in Scotland and it’s the biggest thing in Glasgow.
“Going away from home you always want fans there because if you do score, you need somewhere to run. Celtic are going to score and they’re going to run in front of Rangers fans.”
The Celtic legend added: “I’m not a big one for people running on the pitch and the violence and throwing stuff, that’s not part of the game, but we need to get back to that passion.”
Looking back to his own playing days Scott Brown remembers the emotion of the games and the elation that victory brought.
“It’s brilliant for me as a player going to Ibrox to win the game and to have that passion, that involvement and that emotion of the game with your fans.”
SPFL allowing or even awarding a huge sporting advantage to Rangers
That is now lost for this season at least with all four Scottish Premiership matches being played without away supporters, after the SPFL intervened after Celtic rejected the pathetic Rangers offer of just 300 tickets for this match.
Celtic manager said club would be better taking no tickets that the 300 offered
Martin O’Neill was first to respond for the club saying they Celtic may as well not take any rather than accept 300 tickets for a game that the authorities believe the Rangers are currently incapable of staging properly with the traditional allocation, as per the recent indecent report into the Scottish Cup quarter final last season that could easily have ended in disaster.
Indeed one Celtic supporter who was attacked by Ibrox thugs after the match while boarding a supporters bus was lucky not to be killed.
Celtic really should make it clear that the next time Celtic are drawn at home to an Ibrox there will be zero away fans allowed at Celtic Park, even if by that time the full allocation is restored.
Celtic should have enough to win the match regardless but it’s a cup-tie and anything can happen. Should we be unsuccessful a victory for the Rangers will be TAINTED.
Watch below Scott Brown speaking to the mainstream media yesterday afternoon ahead of Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup tie at Ibrox which will be played with zero away supporters present…
HAVE YOUR SAY – Join the Celtic conversation in our comments section below…
NEW FROM CELTIC STAR BOOKS…Celtic in the Fifties by Matt Corr, in two volumes, available now…
Quick Tip – Add Celticshorts.com as your ‘Preferred Source’ on Google News for quick access to the Celtic content you value the most. It takes just a few seconds and you’ll notice the difference straight away! – Click HERE….Hail Hail!
1 Comment
Should be put into context what our supporters ban is really about on Sunday?
This is nothing more than the scum, being so desperate, in using the SFA and SPFL in dragging ourselves into there such scummy actions?
Yet they get rewarded?
The desperation stems from stopping another potential treble for ourselves in the making?
2 cup final defeats, inflicted by poor decision making by ourselves? Could easily have been back to back trebles, despite our team no where near our best, on such occasions, despite beating the scum within those cup runs?
So making that toxic shithole, a even more vile environment for our players to endure, is now seen as the best course of action, in order to stop ourselves?
The first Glasgow Derby of a season, will involve new players introduced into this fixture?
In turn, it can also set the tone for there potential careers with both clubs also?
For ourselves, we potentially have Johnstone, Donovan, Baur, Hassan, Hogh and Duran, in strong condition for starting positions. Who all possibly have never played in such a toxic environment imo?
Not forgetting Sorenson, Lotomba and Shim also potentially from the bench?
So a very lonely place for our players to encounter and overcome?
The excuse of roll reversal for the SPFL match, the following week?
Doesn’t run true, when we have the start of our europa league campaign, against a free week for the scum to prepare?
So well organised in order to give as much of an advantage possible for the scum, aided by the authorities within the Scottish game imo?
But as a club, we don’t let such cheating ways, in order to try and stop us, impact ourselves?
It’s within the DNA of our club to overcome the cheating challenges that our placed before ourselves as a club?
Which we will continue to do so, especially with being the most successful club within Scottish football, with a considerable and growing distance involved these days.
It’s what makes our club so special, in overcoming and beating the obstacles placed before ourselves?
Next week will be no different, starting on Sunday imo?
This despite using such scum in order to gain an advantage?
Hasn’t worked to date for them, and don’t see Sunday as being any different either imo?