Rangers have announced that Celtic will receive only 300 tickets for the upcoming League Cup quarter-final at Ibrox on 13 September, a dramatic reduction from the allocations seen in recent Old Firm fixtures.
The decision comes in the wake of disorder that marred the two clubs' last meeting at Ibrox, a Scottish Cup tie on 8 March, when roughly 8,000 Celtic fans were in attendance. That match descended into chaos involving supporters from both sides, prompting the Scottish FA to rule earlier on Friday that both clubs must play their next home Scottish Cup fixtures behind closed doors.
Rangers pointed to the fallout from that game, along with the findings of the Blackbourne Report and a subsequent sanction against the club, as key factors shaping their approach to ticketing for the upcoming clash. In a statement, the Ibrox club said: "Since the clubs last considered away allocations, the Blackbourne Report has been published and our sanction issued. Together with the events of 8 March and our assessment of the current risk, these developments have informed our planning for this fixture."
The club emphasized that safety remains paramount, adding: "Matchday safety remains our top priority. A reduced allocation allows greater individual ticket-holder accountability, stronger ingress controls, enhanced segregation and additional safeguards appropriate to the risk identified for this fixture."
Rangers also referenced further incidents since March, noting that pitch invasions involving Celtic fans have continued to occur. The club stated that the Blackbourne Report illustrated how a single incursion can rapidly spiral into broader disorder involving both sets of supporters, making prevention of any repeat occurrence a central concern for the September fixture.
According to Rangers, they had reached out to Celtic following the cup draw in an attempt to establish a workable solution for the fixture. However, the club expressed dissatisfaction with Celtic's response, which arrived eight days later. "That response did not address our concerns around accountability and deterrence," Rangers said, adding that they had not seen the level of acknowledgement or condemnation from Celtic that they believe the seriousness of the March incident warranted.
The Ibrox club further stated that it had been left to deal with the substantial repercussions of the disorder from that fixture, questioning whether sufficient steps had been taken since then to show accountability and reduce the chances of similar scenes recurring. "We remain concerned that there is a material risk of recurrence," the statement continued.
While expressing openness to cooperating with relevant stakeholders and safety authorities regarding these matches, Rangers made clear that any reduction in risk would depend on stronger accountability measures, effective deterrents, and genuine collaboration between the clubs. The statement added that Rangers had previously flagged safety concerns—including around the expanded away allocation for the March fixture—that it felt were not adequately addressed at the time, and stressed that the club