A historic first: Celtic and Rangers barred from their fans
The Scottish Football Association have drawn a line under one of the ugliest chapters of crowd disorder in Old Firm history, and they have done it with a punishment nobody saw coming. Scotland's two giants will now play in front of empty stands. It marks a radical shift in policy.
According to bbc, the Scottish Football Association ordered both Celtic and Rangers to play their next home matches in the Scottish Cup behind closed doors, following the serious crowd disorder that marred their meeting in last season's quarter-final.
They didn't stop there. Each club was hit with a £100,000 fine, payable to the visiting team in those closed-door matches. The SFA also warned of a second sanction, a full stadium closure, if either club's fans step out of line again during the cup competition.
The night of chaos at Ibrox
Trace it back to last March, when Celtic reached the semi-final after a thrilling penalty shootout win over Rangers at Ibrox. The final whistle triggered mayhem. Fans of both teams poured onto the pitch and hurled fireworks and projectiles, injuring a number of police officers and leaving several people under arrest.
Both clubs were charged under Article 37 of the Scottish Football Association's disciplinary regulations, relating to unacceptable conduct, and put their case to an independent judicial panel.
A shocking report and a shift in approach
Published last month under the chairmanship of Mark Blackburn, an independent review report laid it bare: what happened almost tipped into a violent mass confrontation. It pinpointed clear failings at both clubs and turned its fire on the Scottish Football Association itself for going soft on crowd disorder in the past.
Fines and reduced ticket allocations for the use of fireworks have been the association and Premier League's usual response of late. The severity of this punishment signals something else entirely: a complete change in approach.
These sanctions are expected to bite in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup in mid-January. Through them the Scottish Football Association will send a message that leaves no room for interpretation. The era of tolerance towards unacceptable conduct is over for good.
