Rangers and Celtic make their case as Ibrox closed-doors appeals go to tribunal
Rangers and Celtic have argued their appeals against an order that would force one of them to play a home Scottish Cup tie without fans. Both clubs presented their cases to a Scottish FA appeal tribunal, a panel that hears challenges to decisions made by the national governing body, on Monday. The panel will now deliberate before it rules.
The punishment follows trouble at the end of last season's Scottish Cup quarter-final at Ibrox. Celtic won that tie on a penalty shoot-out. Supporters threw fireworks and other missiles during the disorder, and police officers were injured. By 25 August, 43 arrests had been made in connection with the incident.
The Scottish FA announced the closed-doors penalty in late August. Rangers and Celtic are also challenging fines of £100,000 that were imposed after fans clashed on the Ibrox pitch.
An independent review, led by Mark Blackbourne and published in July, looked at what happened. It concluded that the incident came within a very small margin of becoming a violent mass confrontation. The review found failings by both clubs and criticised the Scottish FA for not taking a tougher approach to crowd disorder.
The clubs have also been warned about the future. A suspended sanction means that if there is further unacceptable trouble at a Scottish Cup fixture until the end of next season, a second home match must be played behind closed doors. Both clubs have been told this clearly, and the threat hangs over them whatever the tribunal decides about the current order.
Behaviour between the two sides has already been tightened this season. In September, an agreement was reached that there would be no away fans at any Old Firm derby in this season's competitions run by the Scottish Professional Football League, the body that organises the country's leagues. "Old Firm" is the nickname for the Glasgow derby between Rangers and Celtic, one of the most intense fixtures in British football.
For casual fans, the key point is simple. The tribunal's ruling will decide whether the closed-doors order stands, and it will say something about how seriously the authorities treat crowd trouble at one of the sport's most charged matches. Until then, the next home Scottish Cup tie for each club remains on hold in the sense that its shape depends on the outcome.
Supporters on both sides will be waiting for the verdict. Whatever it is, the question of how to keep 90 minutes of noise and rivalry from spilling onto the pitch is not going away.
