League bosses have been left to decide the allocation that the Light Blues will receive at Celtic Park

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The row over Rangers away fan ban for the final derby clash of the season at Celtic Park is ramping up ahead of the SPFL ruling.

The Hoops informed their rivals that they will be withholding the away allocation of tickets for the Premiership showdown between the two at Parkhead on Sunday May 10.

It follows the shameful scenes after the Scottish Cup quarter-final clash that Martin O’Neill’s men won on penalties at Ibrox last month.

There were chaotic scenes throughout the day, with supporters invading the pitch and members of the Union Bears charging on to confront Celtic fans in the Broomloan Stand at full-time. A member of Celtic staff assaulted with stewards and police also injured.

As a result, the champions demanded that Rangers not sell any tickets to the ultras group. When this wasn’t guaranteed, the allocation was pulled.

Record Sport understands that the Ibrox club are focused on making individuals accountable for their actions on shame game Sunday and will fight the lockout.

An SPFL will now have the final say on the allocation – which is set to have major implications on the Scottish Premiership title race.

But opinions are already flying around – so what have the pundits had to say amid the tense debate?

Chris Sutton

The Celtic hero posted to X: “It’s all kicking off re whether the Union Bears should be let in at Celtic Park or not. But a general point as a rule any fan who attends a match in a balaclava or mask (over the age of 5) should not be allowed into any stadium… these people are there for no good.”

Barry Ferguson

The Ibrox icon to the Go Radio Football Show: “I was worried something like this would happen, with two weeks to go to the game. I think Rangers are spot on to rejecting Cetlic’s proposal and it now goes down the SPFL board. The rules are Rangers are due about 2500 tickets, so I think they are right to reject it.

“Fun and games now. Rangers are doing what they think is right, and Celtic are doing what they think is right. It will be interesting to see what way this goes, albeit there is a couple of big games before. Let’s see what happens. Rangers are backing their fans, and they want the allocation – I think that should be happening.”

Scott Allan

The former Celtic midfielder had concerns over “sporting advantage”, insisting the Light Blues should land their allocation. He told Clyde 1 Superscoreboard: “We always knew there was going to be fallout after the cup game and rightly so, but there has to be a level of cool heads.

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“If it’s one per cent [of the Union Bears] you would imagine as a policing job that would be quite easily done to set up. You can’t turn up after the three games previously and have no fans at all, especially with how tight the league is. That support for a Rangers player at Celtic Park will be huge for them, whether it’s 500, 2000 or whatever it is. I just feel the sporting advantage thing, when you look at Rangers, you can understand why they would be frustrated by that.”

Hugh Keevins

Veteran pundit Keevins told Clyde 1 Superscoreboard: “Perhaps Rangers have not agreed to the request because they know that the tickets are not going out en masse to that supporters group. There is an adult way of handling these matters.

“Rangers, it would do themselves and everybody else no harm if they simply informed Celtic who will be getting the tickets. Then, we will understand how many of the ultras group are going to get them. Fundamental point, Rangers should be allowed fans at Celtic Park. It would be unfair to have it any other way.

“And also, by having fans inside the ground you minimise the risk of having fans outside the ground, which is the very last thing anyone needs. If Rangers were not allocated any tickets, it does encourage some people to turn up outside the ground – particularly if the game had the outcome of the league title in it’s hands. So, Rangers should get tickets. Rangers are run by grown ups, just tell Celtic who are getting the tickets.”

Keevins would then be pushed on the possibility of a points deduction, he responded: “The suggestion of points deductions is hysterical, and we don’t need that kind of talk.”