Ex-SFA chief gives grim prediction on fan punishment after Rangers vs Celtic crowd trouble

A former Scottish Football Association chief has issued a grim prediction after trouble broke out on the pitch following Celtic’s penalty shootout victory over bitter rivals Rangers this weekend. 

There were some ugly scenes as Celtic fans came onto the pitch to celebrate their win, before Rangers fans tried to storm the pitch violently, clearly distraught about their defeat and the jubilation of their rivals at their home stadium.

Both sets of supporters will likely face action after the incident, which came at the first fixture to see 7,500 away fans since the allocations for either team were reduced in 2018. 

There have been incidents since then, including a Celtic member of staff being injured at a 2022 fixture.

Former SFA chief Gordon Smith thinks it will be a long time until that number of fans are allowed to either Ibrox or Celtic Park again.

When the two teams meet in cup finals or semi finals at Hampden Park, there is strict segregation around the stadium and fans are kept a long way apart, but Smith believe that could even be affected after Sunday’s scenes. 

According to the Daily Record, an investigation into the events is underway but could take two weeks to complete. 

Police Scotland have confirmed that nine arrests have been made. 

Smith, who was chief executive of the SFA from 2007 to 2010, believes that the SFA will throw the book at both sides, despite clear arguments about where the aggression on show came from. 

Regarding the ultras who stormed the pitch, Smith said: “They [ultras] are not good fans in terms of what they are doing for their clubs.

“They are going to stop the club from having normal crowds. Going forward, we are going to see a situation where, I think, the SFA will step in and say there will be no away supporters at Rangers and Celtic games.

“The biggest problem officials have is, say in a year’s time, if Celtic and Rangers get into a Cup Final against each other – what would they do there? 

“What do you do if a Celtic and Rangers match at Hampden is half and half?”

As to why no statement has emerged from either club yet, Smith said: “I don’t think they know what they are going to do about it. 

“It’s a matter of dealing with their own fans. 

“At the end of the day, you will probably get more of a response from the SFA because we can’t have Old Firm games where both sets of fans are it, that’s the sad thing that is going to happen. 

“I’m pretty sure we’re going to see that.”