Hearts' pathetic Celtic ticket allocation shows a need for new league rule

Hearts are the latest club to sell Celtic fans short after a pathetic away ticket allocation for the November 9 clash between the two clubs. But Celtic have not helped themselves.

Scottish football has an away fan problem. The lack of a minimum percentage, as other leagues have, such as the Premier League's 10%, gives clubs full control over the number of tickets they offer to away fans.

We recently saw a dispute between Celtic and Rangers that led to an agreement fo have no away fans at all at Old Firm fixtures this season. The Gers offered just a few hundred away tickets to Celtic, which they rejected.

But a similar allocation has now been offered by Hearts, who have given the Hoops just 508 tickets for the November 29 fixture between the two clubs. A Hearts statement given to Sky Sports News read: "As part of the security arrangements for this fixture, we have increased the segregation within the away section at Tynecastle.

"This will result in a reduction in the visiting allocation and is intended to help ensure the match can be managed safely and effectively."

Celtic fans will be asking why the segregation has come completely out of their allocation, given the allocation was already low.

But the Hoops haven't helped themselves here. For Celtic's recent 7-1 win over Hearts at Celtic Park, they gave the Edinburgh club just 800 away tickets, keeping in mind Celtic Park holds 60,400. That's just 1.3% of the stadium's capacity and is equally pathetic.

There have been some security concerns between these two clubs owing to the last day of last season, when there were dramatic scenes, but that was under very specific circumstances.

But how much are both of these clubs charging for tickets? Like any event where an organiser is making significant money, it is incumbent upon them to make sure the right security is in place. Why is it always coming at the expense of away fans who travel across the country to pay the price?

Why is it that police down South are handling thousands of away fans at each game, but Scottish football seems to panic at the sight of anything more than a few hundred?

It's not good enough, and it's something the SFA have to get involved in. For the good of the game, there has to be a minimum percentage based on the stadium's capacity. That way, we can also avoid all of these silly disputes we see between clubs throughout every season.