Lawrence Shankland is favourite Kyogo replacement for Celtic

The Rangers v Celtic Old Firm ticket saga has taken a surprising turn this week.

 

For once, it is the Ibrox outfit who hold the cards and have more than the right to feel ever so slightly smug.

Only last week, Brendan Rodgers was lording it up in a press conference after Celtic withdrew Rangers fans’ tickets for the first Old Firm of the season on September the 1st saying that guarantees hadn’t been given – it turns out that they were in no place to make them either.

Rangers v Celtic ticket saga sees Brendan Rodgers faux pas

Both clubs needed to carry out remedial work to their home grounds, Celtic, for obvious reasons, needed to complete theirs first with Ibrox already under renovation.

A quick check of Glasgow City Council’s planning website shows that Rodgers wasn’t entirely up to date with the facts when he went all guns blazing recently, especially when you consider Celtic’s pending planning application for alterations at Parkhead.

 

If you can stomach it, here is what the Celtic manager had to say on the issue last week when pressed on his club’s decision to not issue tickets to away fans.

 

“I think the board have made a really good decision in that the club’s job is to protect the support. If there is not that guarantee come the second fixture then it’s only logical you wouldn’t reciprocate. Celtic have played their part in what they were asked to do.

“Nothing of this was Celtic’s issue. Nothing. When you go back to where this all started, this is nothing to do with Celtic. Celtic gets dragged into this as being a Celtic-Rangers thing. But it’s not a Celtic-Rangers thing. This is a Rangers thing.

 

“So, when Celtic are asked to have this agreement, to make the stadium safe, we plough money into that, we do the work, which started months ago. On both parties, it hasn’t been agreed. So, it’s not complicated. It hasn’t been done. It’s not great faith if we allow Rangers supporters in and we get to January and our own supporters can’t get in. It’s not good faith.

 

“I think the agreement hasn’t been upheld, so Celtic rightly have to defend their supporters and their club and sadly the Rangers supporters miss out on this game and Celtic in the return game. But let’s hope that after that we can then find a way to get supporters in.”

This version of events isn’t entirely accurate.

 

Old Firm ticket farce may be a Celtic issue

It turns out, it may be a Celtic issue, not just a Rangers one.

It doesn’t take much digging to and discover that Celtic have yet to be granted planning permission for netting to be put up between home and away fans at Parkhead.

 

You can follow the link for Celtic’s application here: Celtic apply for netting to divide home and away fans.

 

A similar application that Rangers have also made to the council for the second derby of the season in January.

 

There is a saying about getting your own house in order before worrying about someone elses, kind of feels apt at this moment in time.

 

Will Rangers stay silent?