No Fans Allowed at SWPL Match
Rangers vs Celtic: Ibrox club cancel away ticket allocation for SWPL clash amid security concerns
Oh, soccer. I do love this sport, but the continued security issues are ridiculous. I can’t count the number of articles I’ve written about racist fans, and there is never a shortage of hooligans in the sport. In the latest off-the-pitch news, no fans will be allowed at the SWPL match between the Rangers and Celtic.
The Ibrox club feared ‘risk’ supporters had bought tickets for Sunday’s SWPL match so the Rangers have canceled all tickets bought by Celtic fans for Sunday’s Scottish Women’s Premier League Old Firm match at Ibrox Stadium.
Around 700 Hoops supporters were expected to attend the top-of-the-table clash, but the away allocation has now been scrapped amid security concerns.
Club Statement: Rangers vs Celtic Women
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— Rangers Women (@RangersWFC) February 17, 2024
No Police
The football club based in Ibrox had the option to bring in police officers inside the stadium for the upcoming game. However, they decided against it. Rangers lead by four points in SWPL and the match will be held in Govan instead of the team’s usual home ground of Broadwood.
A club statement said: “Rangers called an urgent operational meeting between both clubs and Police Scotland, with Police Scotland indicating they would need to deploy a sizeable resource at short notice as opposed to it initially being a police-free fixture.
The team prefers a family-friendly atmosphere
“Rangers is committed to ensuring there are away supporters at our matches for both our men’s and women’s teams. However, a unique selling point of the women’s game is the unsegregated, family-friendly atmosphere, with many children attending these matches.
“Taking all of that into account, Rangers’ security team decided it would be unsafe to allow these ‘risk’ supporters into the stadium, and with Celtic unwilling to cancel just their tickets, the decision to cancel all tickets was taken.
“Rangers have informed Celtic, the SWPL and Police Scotland of our decision.”
From Celtic
A Celtic statement said: “At a time when so many are working so hard to promote and support the women’s game in Scotland, the decision to deny access to so many fans is hugely disappointing, even more so given that there were a number of options available to the home club to allow our fans to safely attend in a stadium of such capacity and given the expected crowd.
“Celtic will liaise with the home club regarding refunds for all tickets and will communicate to our supporters who had purchased tickets as soon as possible.”