Charlie Nicholas has laughed off the idea that Hibernian should’ve been given an even ticket split for the Premier Sports Cup final at Hampden.
Celtic and Hibs will face off against each other on December 19th. However, the Easter Road club have only been given 17,500 tickets for the tie. It’s something they were infuriated by at the time, but with the ticket sale process already well underway, there are no indications of any changes being put forward.
Celtic, meanwhile, have been given just under 25k. It’s an allocation that they’ll fill out in double-quick time. Especially after managing to sell out their 40k allocation for the semi-final against St Johnstone.
Hibs, however, failed to sell out their semi-final allocation against Rangers. And speaking in his Scottish Daily Express column [print edition, 30/11, page 56], Nicholas laughed off the idea they should be given a 50/50 split of the briefs:
“Hibs don’t have a legitimate case for a 50/50 ticket split for next month’s Premier Sports Cup final at Hampden. I would back them all the way if they were selling out Easter Road, but they aren’t.
“You can’t just expect to turn up because your team has reached a cup final and expect to get a ticket when you have hardly watched them. Jack Ross is making progress but how many sell-outs have they had?
“If fans go every week then they should be given priority. Celtic have a bigger fanbase ans they should be entitled to see their team. And my stance would be the same if Rangers were playing Hibs in the final.”
Celtic wise to keep out of ticket debate as briefs continue to be dished out
Celtic have appeared to take into account that silence is golden at the moment. There’s absolutely no need for the Hoops to interject and make their feelings known. We’ve been given an advantage and it’s something we have to seize with both hands.
As for Nicholas’ argument, well you can see exactly where he’s coming from here. It all depends what side of the fence you sit on when it comes to fan priorities.
For example, should Celtic who have over 50k season-ticket holders who go to see them every week be denied more briefs for supporters who only occasionally go to see their team? Or should a club whose fans seldom get to cup finals be given the chance to make the most of it?
In terms of Easter Road’s attendance, they’re averaging just over 13k at the moment [Football Web Pages]. Easter Road can fill out over 20k supporters. So that’s a large portion of seats being left with fans occupying them, and it certainly doesn’t help their case for a 50/50 split.
Perhaps this has had a bearing on why they aren’t being given equal treatment. Even so, you would’ve imagined, at the very least, Hibs would’ve been given the chance.
But the decision has now been made and there’s very little else that can be added to the debate.
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