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Celtic and Rangers Ordered to Play Scottish Cup Home Ties Behind Closed Doors

Ibrox Stadium, home of Rangers, one of the grounds affected by the Scottish Cup closure order
Ibrox Stadium, where last season's Scottish Cup quarter-final ended in a pitch invasion. Photo: Lesterhobbes764, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Celtic and Rangers have both been ordered to play their next home Scottish Cup match behind closed doors. The punishment follows last season's quarter-final between the two clubs, which ended with supporters from both sides on the pitch at Ibrox.

On top of the closures, each club must pay £100,000 to whoever they are drawn against in that fixture. So the opponent loses a home crowd's worth of atmosphere and gains a six-figure cheque instead.

What triggered it

Celtic won that quarter-final on penalties at Ibrox and went through to the semi-finals. What followed the shootout was the problem. Fans of both clubs spilled onto the playing surface, and the disciplinary process has taken until now to reach a conclusion.

A second strike is on the table

This is the part the clubs will be most nervous about. Either side could face another home game without fans if their supporters are found guilty of what the authorities call unacceptable conduct in a future Scottish Cup tie.

The sanctions are expected to take effect when both clubs enter this season's competition in January.

Rangers make a gesture on tickets

Separately, Rangers have confirmed they will give Celtic 300 tickets for the upcoming League Cup meeting between the sides. Away allocations in this fixture have been a running argument for years, and 300 is a small number by historical standards, but it is not nothing.

The wider problem

Scottish football has been circling this issue for a long time. Closed-door punishments hit the innocent majority of supporters hardest, which is why clubs resist them, and they keep being handed down anyway because nothing else has worked.

Whether January's empty stands change any behaviour is a different question.

Source: BBC Sport

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