The Glasgow Derby has the reputation of being one of the fiercest and most exciting derbies in world football.
The passion of the fans coupled with the fast-paced and thundering football leaves many professional footballers left dumbstruck and sometimes breathless at the sheer intensity of the fixture.
But over recent seasons, that intensity has been diluted somewhat. After Rangers had decided that they had enough of watching a full Broamloan Stand celebrating easy derby wins in a sea of green and white twice a season, the 7500 allocation was cut to a meagre 800 until, eventually, no away fans now grace the fixture in any of the Glasgow grounds.
Celtic are keen on returning to the old allocation but with Rangers now having season ticket commitments in the stand, the chances of that are very slim.
And Rangers Chief Executive, James Bisgrove has pretty much confirmed that. Speaking to a fans forum in a Q&A, Bisgrove has said that a return to the old full allocation is ‘unlikely’ even though a proposed meeting with Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson to discuss the matter has not yet been held. [The Sun]
It seems that the posturing to their fans from the Ibrox club over an issue that they had started will never settle down. It is clear that there is no desire from them to allow a sizeable amount of Celtic fans into Ibrox again whilst we continue to dominate Scottish football.
Which is a shame really. Or is it? We have seen the Derby atmosphere at Celtic Park when it is packed full of Hoops support. The atmosphere in the 3-0 victory in February last year when the game was held midweek in an evening kick-off was tremendous.
As was the title-defining 3-2 victory at Celtic Park. So it seems that we may well have to put up with little to no tickets being made available next season for a good few seasons yet.
In other news, Report: The agreed sell-on clause as Celtic close in on first summer signing; medical complete
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