Celtic and Rangers lose appeals; Scottish Cup home ties to be played behind closed doors
Rangers and Celtic will play their next Scottish Cup home ties behind closed doors after a Scottish FA appellate tribunal on Monday dismissed both clubs' appeals against stadium-closure sanctions and upheld a requirement that each club pay £100,000 to the visiting team.
The stadium-closure penalties were announced in late August following disorder at the end of last season's quarter-final tie at Ibrox, which Celtic won after a penalty shoot-out. Supporters threw fireworks and other missiles, police officers were injured and 43 arrests had been made by 25 August, prompting action from the governing bodies.
An independent review published in July, led by Mark Blackbourne, concluded the incident "came within a very small margin of becoming a violent mass confrontation"; the report identified failings by both clubs and criticised the SFA for not taking a tougher approach to crowd disorder. The sanctions sought to address those findings and the perceived risks highlighted in the review.
Both Glasgow clubs presented their cases to the Scottish FA appellate tribunal on Monday but failed to overturn the ban on supporters for their upcoming Scottish Cup home fixtures. The tribunal did, however, set aside a suspended ban on fans that had been attached in the event of further infractions.
Celtic criticised the decision, describing it as an "excessive and disproportionate punishment" and claiming a "false equivalence" has been drawn between the behaviour of their own fans entering the pitch "at a moment of emotion and celebration" and that of Rangers supporters. The club also said it had no responsibility for stadium safety arrangements at Ibrox and therefore should not have been punished in the same way as Rangers.
Fans from both sides made it on to the pitch at Ibrox in March, an element cited in investigations and reviews of the events surrounding the quarter-final. The incidents at Ibrox and subsequent inquiries formed the basis for the penalties imposed in August and defended at the appellate hearing.
An agreement reached in September will see no away fans at any of the Old Firm derbies in this season's SPFL competitions, a separate measure intended to reduce the risk of further disorder between the rival supporters.
As a result of the tribunal ruling, both clubs must host their next Scottish Cup home matches behind closed doors and fulfil the £100,000 payment requirement to visiting clubs specified in the sanctions.