One of the great mysteries, to this writer at least, exists around Celtic Park on European nights.
For all UEFA matches at Parkhead, the front three rows of each end stand are left empty.
You’ll have noticed this if you’ve ever been to a Champions League or Europa League game at our fine stadium.
It’s par for the course in UEFA competition, just like the different styled numbers on the back, the card happy referees and now VAR.
But what is the reason for the empty seats at Celtic Park? And has anyone ever thought to ask?
The reason for the rows of empty seats
Well, thankfully, one supporter decided to find out from the man in the know – club SLO John Paul Taylor.
The fan tweeted the club figure, and got a response that seems far less complex than you’d think it would be.
Taylor explained: “The ad boards need to be placed in a certain position which means you can’t see the pitch from the first three rows.”
Simple enough, eh?
It does seem a shame
Three rows may seem a pretty small percentage of the stadium to be missing, and the empty seats kind of remind you that it’s a big game in a funny way.
But it does seem a shame that thousands of fans, over the years, will have missed crucial Celtic goals and wins in UEFA competition.
Surely UEFA could use smaller ad boards. Or even just find a way to cover the current electric ones that Celtic adopt for domestic home matches.
Ah well, at least we know the truth now and will never have to ponder that question again.
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