Celtic and Rangers to face empty stands after Ibrox Scottish Cup violence

Celtic and Rangers will play their next two home Scottish Cup matches without supporters after the Scottish Football Association imposed severe sanctions for the disorder that followed their quarter-final meeting last season.

Each club has also been fined £100,000, with the money to be paid to the opposing team when it visits for those behind-closed-doors fixtures. The Scottish FA has warned that a further full stadium closure could be imposed if either set of supporters is involved in more unacceptable behaviour during the competition.

The decision represents a major change in the authorities’ approach to crowd trouble surrounding the Old Firm rivalry. In recent years, the Scottish FA and the Scottish Premiership had generally responded to incidents involving the use of fireworks with financial penalties or reductions in the number of tickets available to supporters.

This time, however, both clubs have been punished with matches played in empty stadiums following serious scenes at Ibrox in March.

Celtic progressed to the Scottish Cup semi-finals after defeating Rangers on penalties in a dramatic quarter-final tie at the home of their Glasgow rivals. After the final whistle, supporters from both clubs entered the pitch, where fireworks and other objects were thrown.

Several police officers were injured during the disorder, while a number of people were arrested. The events prompted formal disciplinary charges against Celtic and Rangers under Article 37 of the Scottish FA’s disciplinary regulations, which covers unacceptable conduct. Both clubs subsequently presented their cases to an independent judicial panel.

The sanctions follow the publication last month of an independent review led by Mark Blackburn. Its findings said the situation had come close to developing into a large-scale violent confrontation.

The review identified clear shortcomings at both clubs and strongly criticised the Scottish FA for its previous lack of action in dealing with persistent problems involving supporter disorder. The latest punishment signals that the governing body now intends to take a considerably harder line.

The clubs are expected to serve the stadium bans in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup in mid-January next year. The penalties will therefore affect two of the country’s most prominent teams at a key stage of the competition, while their opponents will receive the fines imposed on the hosts.

The Scottish FA’s decision sends a clear message that previous tolerance of unacceptable conduct has ended. Any repeat of similar behaviour during the cup could lead to the additional full stadium closures already threatened by the governing body.