Stadium closures for Old Firm after fan disorder

What the report says

Celtic and Rangers have been ordered to play their next home Scottish Cup matches behind closed doors after last season’s quarter-final between the Old Firm rivals was disrupted by fan disorder, BBC Sport Football reports. The Scottish FA ruling also requires each club to pay £100,000 to the team they are drawn against in that fixture.

According to the BBC’s report, the sanction could extend to a second home match without supporters if there is another incident involving either club’s fans in a Scottish Cup game. The measure is expected to take effect when both teams enter this season’s competition at the fourth-round stage in mid-January.

The disciplinary action stems from March’s tie at Ibrox, where Celtic won on penalties and fans from both sides entered the pitch after the final whistle. The BBC says the disorder involved fireworks and other objects being thrown, with police officers injured and arrests made. Both clubs had already given evidence to an independent panel under the Scottish FA’s conduct rule covering unacceptable behaviour at matches.

BBC Sport also notes that a recent independent review found the incident came close to a violent mass confrontation and criticised both the clubs and the Scottish FA. The punishment is being seen as a tougher response than the fines or ticket reductions often used in similar cases, highlighting growing concern about crowd trouble in Scottish football.