Rangers manager Danny Rohl has confirmed a serious injury blow ahead of their trip to Livingston on Sunday, in a possible big boost for title rivals Celtic with the Old Firm lurking next weekend.
Celtic to be handed full Broomloan Stand for Scottish Cup quarter-final
Celtic fans are set to be handed the full Broomloan Stand for their Scottish Gas Scottish Cup quarter-final at Ibrox.
Rangers are understood to have offered the traditional derby allocation in a bid to avoid handing out even more tickets to their rivals. The decision will ensure about 7,500 Hoops fans are inside Ibrox for the cup tie on March 8.
Scottish Cup rules state that away clubs have the right to claim up to 20 per cent of tickets, which equates to about 10,000 fans at Ibrox. Rules add that the area of the ground for away fans is agreed by both clubs and police and stadium safety laws are taken into account.
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill, who was furious at Celtic fans’ protests in the Europa League on Thursday, hinted his club would push for the full entitlement after the draw was made on February 9.
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The former Hoops midfielder was stunned by an incident early on in the game.
It is understood both clubs were encouraged to revert to the long-standing agreement, which was torn up by Rangers in May 2018, to avoid a drawn-out dispute.
The Scottish Football Association could have referred the matter to its compliance officer if the impasse had continued and Rangers could have been made to hand out a bigger allocation.
The indications are that Rangers would also be given a similar number of tickets for any Scottish Cup ties at Celtic Park in future years.
Celtic fans traditionally filled the Broomloan Stand for decades but their allocation was slashed by Rangers to about 800 in May 2018.
Before they square off for a chance to enter a semi-final stage with just one of the Premiership’s top four however, the sides square off at Ibrox in the league on March 1, and Rohl has shared some worrying injury news ahead of that clash.
Rangers star set to miss Old Firm derby through injury
While the Gers are set to be boosted by the returns of Derek Cornelius and Connor Barron in the coming weeks, Rohl confirmed ahead of Sunday’s trip to Livingston one player has a “long” injury.
“We have to change some players. Not that I want to, I have to. We have small injuries but I cannot go into too much detail today, but you will see, I think, on Sunday.
“One is short term, one is long. I think one player will be two to three weeks and the other one is doubtful for Sunday. There could be two or three changes for the weekend.”
The mystery player will definitely miss the Livingston clash and the first of two Old Firm derbies in March, with the cup quarter-final also in doubt.
Gers fans will have to hope Rohl’s definition of “long” is no more than a few weeks ahead of the league split in April.
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The Gers boss is confident.