Celtic & Rangers Scottish Cup stadium closure upheld

What the report says

Rangers and Celtic have both lost appeals against Scottish FA sanctions that require their next Scottish Cup home ties to be played behind closed doors. The tribunal also upheld a financial penalty, meaning each club must pay £100,000 to the visiting side in its respective home cup match. A previously suspended fan-ban sanction was removed, according to the decision.

The ruling follows disorder at the end of last season’s Scottish Cup quarter-final between the Glasgow rivals at Ibrox, which Celtic won on penalties. The BBC reported that the trouble included fireworks and other objects being thrown, injuries to police officers and dozens of arrests. The closure sanction was announced in late August after the incidents.

Celtic had argued the punishment was too severe and said it was being treated as if its supporters’ pitch intrusion was equivalent to the more serious safety issues at Ibrox. The club also said it was not responsible for stadium safety arrangements at Rangers’ ground. An independent review published in July said the situation came very close to becoming a violent mass confrontation and criticised both clubs, while also saying the Scottish FA should have acted more firmly. Separately, the two clubs had already agreed in September to ban away fans from Old Firm league derbies this season.