The Scottish Football Association has imposed a sanction on both Celtic and Rangers that requires the next home Scottish Cup match for each club to be played without spectators, and the two Old Firm giants have formally appealed the decision. In addition to challenging the requirement for a closed‑door fixture, the clubs are also contesting the £100,000 compensation fee that the governing body ordered them to pay to the opposing side for the contested match.
The SFA’s ruling stipulates that any future Scottish Cup game involving either club will be held behind closed doors if any form of trouble occurs at a cup tie before the conclusion of the next season. This punitive measure stems from the quarter‑final clash between the rivals last season, a game that descended into chaos when supporters from both camps clashed on the pitch at Ibrox Stadium. Police Scotland responded to the disorder by arresting 43 individuals after officers were injured by projectiles and pyrotechnic devices that were launched from the stands. An appeal hearing to review the sanction has been scheduled for 26 October.
The incident marked the first Old Firm encounter at Ibrox since 2018 in which Celtic were allocated the entire Broomloan Stand, resulting in roughly 7,500 away fans being permitted to attend. Some of those supporters even forced their way into the away end before kickoff, a situation that was meant to comply with the Scottish Cup’s ticket‑allocation rules. By contrast, the league match between the two clubs the weekend before had a far smaller away‑fan presence – about 2,500 Celtic supporters – after the clubs reached an agreement to allocate roughly five percent of the stadium’s capacity to the visiting side.
This reduced figure reflected a broader trend over recent seasons of diminishing away‑fan allocations, and at times, the complete exclusion of travelling supporters. After the quarter‑final finished level at 0‑0, Celtic advanced to the semi‑finals by winning a penalty shoot‑out 4‑2. The conclusion of the shoot‑out triggered a pitch invasion from both sets of fans. Some Celtic supporters spilled onto the playing surface to celebrate the decisive spot‑kick, while a contingent of Rangers fans from the home end rushed toward them, hurling fireworks back and forth.
The chaotic scenes resulted in a total of 43 arrests, underscoring the seriousness of the disorder. Celtic’s reaction to the SFA’s punishment was one of shock, describing the penalty as disproportionate to the incident. In a separate development, Rangers allocated only 300 tickets to Celtic for a recent League Cup tie at Ibrox. The Rangers board justified the limited allocation by citing an independent report commissioned after the March Scottish Cup quarter‑final.
The report, authored by former police officer Mark Blackbourne, highlighted that since the March fixture there had been additional pitch invasions involving Celtic supporters. Celtic rejected the proposal, prompting the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) to intervene. The SPFL ultimately decided that no away supporters would be permitted at Old Firm matches in the Scottish Premiership and League Cup for the remainder of the season. The independent review concluded that "crushing" and "life‑threatening" violence had been narrowly avoided during the March incident.
Blackbourne’s findings noted that the Celtic Ultras were the first to enter the pitch in a celebratory manner, with other fans following their lead. In contrast, the Union Bears – the Rangers‑aligned ultra group – moved onto the track in a reactionary, confrontational, and overtly threatening way. The proximity of both groups to the playing surface, the report argued, significantly increased the likelihood of a mass incursion and accelerated the escalation of disorder. The report also described the post‑match invasion by several hundred Celtic supporters as "wholly inexcusable" and said it provoked an immediate hostile response from sections of the home support, who forced past stewards and police to reach the pitch.
Blackbourne highlighted the disturbing nature of a Glasgow City Council Special SAG meeting record in which veteran Police Scotland officers were described as "petrified" of policing another match at Ibrox. He warned that such language, even when qualified, signals a deep‑seated concern for the safety of Scottish football and demands urgent attention from all parties responsible for security governance at major fixtures. Interviewees in the review further likened the organisational characteristics of certain ultra groups to those typically associated with organised crime, urging that incidents linked to these factions be met with harsher sanctions from the clubs involved. The report’s recommendations call for a stricter disciplinary framework aimed at deterring future violent outbreaks and protecting both fans and officials.
In summary, Celtic and Rangers are now appealing both the closed‑door requirement for their upcoming home cup games and the hefty compensation fee imposed by the Scottish FA. The appeal will be heard on 26 October, and the outcome could shape the handling of fan‑related violence in Scottish football for the foreseeable future. The broader debate continues over how best to balance the rights of travelling supporters with the need for robust safety measures, especially in the highly charged atmosphere that accompanies Old Firm encounters.