Iain Blair was involved in drawing up the post split fixtures for more than two decades
17:00, 06 Apr 2026Updated 17:00, 06 Apr 2026
Police clash with Rangers fans as they storm the pitch (Image: SNS Group)
Former SPFL fixtures chief Iain Blair fears last month’s Old Firm shame game could clobber hopes of a thrilling head-to-head shoot-out on the final day of the season.
League bosses are expected to reveal later this week who will be facing who in the final five games of the campaign as the race for the crown heads towards the finish line.
Only three points separate leaders Hearts, Rangers and Celtic – leading some excited punters to speculate over the possibility of a last-day decider involving two of the three contenders.
But Blair – who spent 22 years serving as the league’s secretary and chief operating officer before retiring in 2021 – can’t see Police bosses allowing that to happen following the ugly scenes that erupted at Ibrox in the wake of Celtic’s Scottish Cup quarter-final triumph over Gers.
An independent inquiry has been launched after the disgraceful events last month.
Fans clashed on the pitch and pyrotechnics were thrown after Rangers ultras raced to confront the jubilant Hoops support who had swarmed the turf during wild celebrations.
Police chiefs have long been wary of having title contenders meeting on the final day of the season, a stance that dates back to Rangers’ 1999 Parkhead title party.
And Blair suspects that mood will have hardened in the wake of the disorder last month.
He told Record Sport: “I was secretary back when we had the Celtic-Rangers game at Celtic Park over the May bank holiday in 1999, which proved to be the league decider. And that was quite a challenging night for all as I’m sure everyone remembers.
(Image: SNS Group 0141 221 3602)
“Since then, the police have definitely wanted to avoid, if it was possible, having league deciders between the two main contenders.
“We have had a couple of occasions when it’s ended up being that way – there was one at in 2012 when Rangers won to stop Celtic winning the league at Ibrox and another derby clincher at Celtic Park during Brendan Rodgers’ first stint in charge.
“But the recent events in the Scottish Cup game at Ibrox, I suspect will have brought it more sharply into focus again. In all fairness, the police do try and work with the league.
“They understand that they have a very serious input to it, and the SPFL have to give that full and serious consideration. But it’s not the only input, there are other things that we have to look at. The competitive balance of the season being the primary one.”
Blair has assured fans that if there is a safe way to maximise the drama, Beattie will strive to find it.
Asked for his take on how he’d draw up the fixtures, the former administrator said: “The honest answer to that is I don’t know how they will arrange this year’s post-split fixtures, and that’s absolutely genuine, simply because having three teams in contention wasn’t something that I really had to consider.
“There are two sides to it. One is that you do want to try and maintain the overall interest in the league, and particularly the interest in the championship itself, as long as you possibly can.
“You want to have the drama of the helicopters turning around and Peter Martin going nuts in the commentary box. All of that is part of the folklore now of the split, so it’s not something you avoid. But equally, that cannot be the only thing that you consider.
“You have to look at sequencing of fixtures, you have to look at where policing resources might come into it. For example, I can’t imagine the police agreeing to have a game at Celtic Park and a game at Ibrox at the same time.
“And of course, on the final day of the season, you want them on the same time, because you don’t want anybody to have prior information and all the rest of it. So that’s a challenge to it as well. I genuinely will be fascinated to see what the fixtures look like when they come out.”