The footage outside Celtic Park will not surprise the club or the Hoops support. If anything, it only reinforces why the club took such a firm stance during the Rangers ticket dispute.
Videos circulating online showed a group of Rangers supporters reportedly being refused entry into Celtic Park ahead of the Glasgow Derby.
Celtic were accused of overreacting. The evidence now points in a very different direction.
On its own, that footage does not define an entire away support. But it does underline the tension around this fixture and why Celtic pushed for tighter control in the first place.
Celtic withheld around 2,200 tickets after the incidents at Ibrox, which escalated the issue into an SPFL dispute.
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Celtic’s Rangers ticket stance was ultimately backed by the SPFL
That is the key point many ignored during the fallout.
Celtic did not act outside the process. Rangers escalated the matter to the SPFL and both clubs agreed in advance that the adjudication would be final.
As reported following the SPFL adjudication, Rangers were left frustrated because there was no appeal process available after the decision was made.
That frustration changes nothing. Rangers accepted the rules before the outcome became public.
Celtic raised concerns after serious disorder at Ibrox earlier this season. The SPFL reviewed the situation and sided with the club.
The Celtic vs Rangers dispute exposed bigger problems for the SPFL
This row also exposed weaknesses inside the league’s governance structure.
The SPFL admitted the current deadline for disputes was insufficient and confirmed plans to move toward a 35-day referral period before fixtures.
The governing body effectively acknowledged its own rules were not equipped to deal with an escalation of this scale under pressure.
The scenes outside Celtic Park will now become part of that wider discussion. They do not justify sweeping claims about supporters, but they do reinforce why Celtic believed tighter measures were necessary around this fixture.
Celtic were criticised for taking a hard line at the start of this dispute. After the SPFL ruling and the scenes that followed, that stance now looks far easier to understand.
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