Ally McCoist has labelled Celtic’s ticket stance a “disgrace”, but the claim does not stand up once the club’s own position is laid out in full. The argument sounds strong, but it collapses as soon as the facts are applied.
McCoist’s criticism centres on one idea, that Celtic are interfering with which Rangers supporters are allowed to attend Parkhead. He presents it as unfair and excessive.
He said: “I just want to mention quickly, Rangers have asked the SPFL to step in after Celtic refused to give away fans any tickets for the final O-d F-rm derby of the season unless the Ibrox club’s Union Bears ultras group is banned.”
Celtic’s statement does not name the group, but it clearly points to the individuals involved in the Ibrox disorder.
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Celtic position on ticket allocation removes McCoist’s argument
But McCoist’s rage did not stop there as he leant into some sarcasm as he took his next dig at Celtic.
He then added sarcastically, “I think Celtic are absolutely correct in this and I think they should actually tell Rangers the names of the fans they’d like invited to the game.
“Would Celtic rather do that, and say we want so-and-so and so-and-so, I mean it’s just embarrassing?”
Celtic have confirmed they are offering the full allocation as normal to Rangers. The only thing embarrassing here is McCoist’s stance.
The only condition applies to a clearly defined group involved in serious violence and disorder at Ibrox. That is not picking and choosing fans, it is a direct response to what happened.
Celtic also state the decision follows a detailed risk assessment with safety as the priority. That replaces McCoist’s framing with a clear, evidence-based rationale.
McCoist’s Celtic criticism falls apart on his own evidence
Andy Townsend highlighted the uncertainty in the argument when he said: “Are you actually allowed to do that? I know it’s your ground and I know they’ll be talking about public safety, but are you actually allowed to do that?”
McCoist continued: “Well it looks like that is what they are trying to do, which is a shambles. It’s a disgrace, actually.
“Celtic fans come on the pitch at Ibrox, of course the Rangers fans shouldn’t have come on the pitch and reacted the way they did but if the Celtic fans didn’t come on the pitch there wouldn’t have been any trouble at all.
“But to start picking and choosing who they want to come to games? “Do me a favour.
“Plus, the fact it’s not fair, it’s absolutely not fair and they should get it sorted.”
That line of argument depends on Celtic restricting access without cause, but the club’s position shows the opposite. The allocation remains in place and the condition is that player and staff safety at Celtic is their priority.
His reference to the Ibrox incident also undermines his own case. The same events he points to are the reason Celtic have introduced a targeted restriction based on safety.
McCoist’s criticism is embarrassing and not supported by the facts. Celtic’s stance is defined, justified, and rooted in recent events because it’s not the first time Rangers fans have been involved in Glasgow Derby controversies.
Celtic are absolutely correct to take this stance and the fact that McCoist can’t even see it is the real ‘shambles’.
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