Chris Sutton lays Celtic ticket allocation blame on Rangers

Chris Sutton lays Celtic ticket allocation blame on Rangers

In response to the ongoing dispute over the distribution of away tickets, a bullish Chris Sutton has demanded that Rangers executives “get their finger out”. The decision to allow any supporters to go to the next two Glasgow derbies has drawn criticism from the former Celtic striker. Celtic say they were prepared to host Rangers supporters for the September 1 match, but their city rivals—who are already playing at Hampden Park due to ongoing construction at Ibrox—did not promise to accept their invitation on January 2. Since 2018, there hasn’t been a crowded away end for league games between Celtic and Rangers, according to Sutton. At a time when Scottish football is attempting to project a positive image of itself, recent developments such as this current ticket fiasco aren’t a good look for the game up north.

The hoops star wrote in his Daily Record column, “The blame game and finger pointing have returned with the latest Celtics and Rangers away ticket conflict. “It’s unfortunate that after raising expectations that this fixture would return to some semblance of normalcy, we find ourselves back in this situation again. And yet here we are, about to face another away supporter shutout at Celtic Park the following month, followed by the same at Ibrox on New Year’s Day. Although it’s not ideal, I have to admit that I understand Celtic’s perspective on this.

“If Rangers can’t be straight with their own fans, how can they take their word at face value when it comes to Celtic supporters? It looks to me the agreement reached last March was on the provision that certain safety measures were made in the wake of previous problems. Celtic have held up their side of the bargain and got the planning permission and the work done ahead of the first derby. But what about Rangers? I get the fact the return game is months away and there’s still time to sort it.

“Unless there are plans set in stone, though, then how can Celtic know for sure they will be carried out? After all, this is a Rangers board who can’t even tell their own supporters if they will even be back at Ibrox by that point. So they’d be telling the Celtic board, ‘trust us, it’ll be alright on the night’. I don’t think so.

“Everyone is aware of my position on the matter. Since the atmosphere created by the supporters is what makes it a spectacle, I would want to see a return to the traditional allocations. It has suffered in recent years, and we shouldn’t be harming the product at a time when Scottish football is vying for public attention. “All we have to do is hope that Rangers pull their finger out and finish the job so we can at least start moving in the right path once more. While they are spending a lot of money to bring back Adam Idah and bragging about how much they have, Celtic supporters are currently taking great pleasure in the chaos at Ibrox, including the team’s Champions League exit to Dynamo Kyiv and other problems.

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