Martin O’Neill slams Celtic’s 300-ticket Rangers allocation ahead of cup showdown
Martin O’Neill has hit out at Celtic’s drastically reduced allocation for next month’s Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Rangers at Ibrox, insisting the Hoops may as well receive no tickets at all.
It was confirmed on Friday evening that Celtic will be given just 300 tickets for the Glasgow Derby showdown.
The decision comes after both clubs were hit with a full Scottish Cup stadium closure following events after April’s derby at Ibrox, when Celtic supporters had been handed an allocation of around 9,000.
Celtic strongly contested the SFA punishment and O’Neill has now expressed his disappointment at the latest ticketing situation, arguing the fixture suffers when significant numbers of away supporters are absent.
O’Neill said on the Ibrox allocation: “Well, we might as well not get any, if that’s the case.
“My view – taking off my Celtic manager’s hat – I’m just looking at it from a viewpoint: It’s one of the great fixtures.
“Even if the teams are not of the standard of, let’s say, Paris Saint-Germain or Real Madrid, it is still a fantastic fixture.
“You realise how big it is in European games and in the world; people talk about it as a great game. And the best atmosphere is when the away fans have their allocation. That’s been my point the whole way.
“I thought from a distance, watching games when it was away, that it lost something.
“I remember, I think it came to one of the games here for Celtic and Rangers, and Rangers scored a goal in complete silence. So that’s not what you’re looking for.
“It’s still a crowd participation game, and that’s a shame. If these are the things that are happening because of it, if we’re both having to play behind closed doors for the next game if we’re at home, well, I don’t know. I’m not contesting that.
“But overall, from a distance, it is a shame, because it’s a phenomenal fixture.
“And when we played the league game – and obviously, memory plays tricks on you at the end of the day – the league game where we were 2-0 down, I have not known noise like it at Ibrox for a long time, even in my day. Or so I think.
“It’s probably wrong, but it was phenomenal, you know? And just to be participating in that game gives you goosebumps.
“So that’s a shame. That’s a shame. But very obviously, if we’re going to, if they’re going to give us 300 tickets, I would rather say no. And we’ll give them one!”
