Celtic’s Glasgow Derby allocation has been back on the agenda again this week.
This time last year, we were preparing for the first derby in over five years in which more than 800 away fans would be in attendance.
Today, after Celtic were drawn away to Rangers in the Scottish Cup, we look set to be going up a level once again, with a return of the full Broomloan allocation seriously on the cards.
Barry Ferguson was the Rangers manager for said game last year, which saw 3,000 away fans allowed to attend.
Now back on punditry duty, he has been dealing with the inevitable question over the Broomloan return… and Charlie Mulgrew has too.
Do you reckon these reduced allocations have taken the edge off the Glasgow derby?
Barry Ferguson and Charlie Mulgrew on Rangers vs Celtic
Despite some pundits talking about fan safety, Police Scotland released a statement saying that the matchday allocation was not for them to decide.
Let’s not forget, of course, that the removal of the traditional allocations was not due to fan safety concerns, but Rangers ‘prioritising their own fans’ after a ‘record number of season ticket sales’.
READ MORE: Celtic squad update on Kieran Tierney and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from Martin O’Neill
On the Go Radio Football Show, Mulgrew questioned whether Rangers could handle an allocation as high as 10,000 Celtic fans.
The ex-Hoops vice captain said: “I don’t know if Rangers could handle that, could they? 10,000 Celtic fans at Ibrox.
“[A chunky away support] is so much better. Both ways it’s so much better. It adds more pressure and it gives the away team a wee bit of help when the fans are getting behind them.
“But it goes the other way. If they are quiet it gives you a help. I just think [what] gives a much better spectacle is both sets of fans [having] a good support in the stadium.
“Back in the day when I used to go to Ibrox and watch Celtic, you’d have the full back stand behind the goal. I remember all the beach balls getting put on back in the day for Seville.
“I remember playing at Celtic Park when the Rangers fans were all in. It’s much, much better.”
Ferguson said: “That (10,000 Celtic fans) would be more than normal, but? I’m old school, I like it the way it was a number of years ago.
“You’re a Rangers player and you’d walk out and Celtic would have 7,000 or 8,000. That’s what makes the Old Firm games special.
“The atmosphere and getting both sets of supporters. The allocation still for me is not enough, I’d like it to get back to what it was previously. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in terms of the 20 per cent.”
Which game is the more important one for Celtic to beat Rangers in?
Why did you pick your decision?
Celtic’s allocations at Ibrox: a history
In the 1970s, Celtic were typically allowed an allocation of 18,000 fans at Ibrox, as part of a long-standing reciprocal agreement between the club. Derby matches in this era regularly drew crowds of 80,000 fans.
The Broomloan allocation was the normality by the 1990s. Hoops fans were banned by Rangers for a match in 1994.
Whilst the 1993 League Cup semi-final saw Celtic given 18,000 tickets at Ibrox due to its use as a “neutral venue”, Hoops fans were furious when Rangers received 10,000 more due to the stadium’s configuration.
Celtic began refusing the tiny allocation due to fan safety in the 2020s, leading to the current league status quo of 3,000.
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