Celtic will ‘welcome’ Rangers supporters to Parkhead in next month’s Glasgow derby.
Hoops supporters will then also have a ticket allocation for the following clash between the two sides at Ibrox and it comes after an agreement was struck to allow four percent of saleable capacity to be allocated to Celtic and Rangers away fans.
It has been a controversial issue over the years since the change in 2018 when Rangers slashed Celtic’s allocation to avoid watching their rivals constantly celebrating big victories on their patch.
Celts returned the favour during the tit-for-tat battle which would culminate in a complete away fan lockout despite the numbers over the years being around the 7000 mark.
Callum McGregor had his say on the ticket situation earlier this afternoon when he met the press before this weekend’s clash with St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.
Brendan Rodgers reacts to Celtic and Rangers away fan ticket allocation deal
And now manager Brendan Rodgers has been asked for his thoughts on fans being back in the grounds.
Asked if he was pleased to see the announcement, Rodgers said: “Yeah, I think everyone is. It’s a big part of the fixture. Having been involved in it with the supporters there, both home and away, and then obviously them being taken away, then it does make a difference.
“So yeah, I think it’s great for everyone. Great for the game, great for the spectacle of the game, and obviously ultimately for the supporters. They get the chance to see their team, which is great.”
Doing the math it looks like roughly 2400 Gers fans will be at Celtic Park while just over 2000 Hoops fans will be at Ibrox for the respective fixtures.
But while Rodgers is excited to have supporters back in general, he stopped short of demanding the previous 7000 numbers and chose to celebrate the win.
Rodgers says Celtic were never to blame for the ticket fiasco
The Irishman also insisted it had nothing to do with him in terms of getting the two clubs to agree on the call as he said it was all down to them.
“Well, we just have to get supporters back in the stadiums again,” he added. “That was the start point, and then hopefully it can get somewhere near to where it was before, because that always creates an amazing atmosphere.
“Listen, this is all the club. The club have dealt with it really well. Like I’ve said, I’ve always said before, this wasn’t a Celtic thing. This was something that sadly was out of our control at the beginning of it all.
“But thankfully now, both clubs come together, and it’s been Michael Nicholson and the people behind the scenes who have dealt with it. It’s great for us involved in the game.”
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