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Celtic will receive just 300 away tickets for the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final against Rangers at Ibrox on September 13, 2026.
The drastically reduced allocation marks a significant departure from the 8,000 tickets Celtic received for their previous visit to Ibrox in the competition.
That earlier match in March ended in controversy, with widespread disorder breaking out after Celtic secured a penalty shoot-out victory in the Scottish Cup quarter-final.
Celtic supporters spilled onto the playing area to celebrate, prompting Rangers fans to charge onto the pitch, leading to dozens of arrests in the scenes that followed.
An SFA disciplinary hearing subsequently ordered both clubs to play their next home Scottish Cup match behind closed doors as punishment for the crowd trouble.
Both clubs were also ordered to pay their opponents £100,000 in compensation for the loss of shared gate receipts at affected cup ties.
Any repeat of crowd trouble at Scottish Cup ties during the next two seasons would trigger another closed-door punishment for the club involved.
Rangers addressed the reduced allocation directly in an official club statement, citing safety assessments, the Blackbourne Report, and ongoing risk evaluations as central to their decision-making.
“Since the clubs last considered away allocations, the Blackbourne Report has been published and our sanction issued,” Rangers said in their statement, outlining the factors behind the reduction.
Rangers added that “together with the events of 8 March and our assessment of the current risk, these developments have informed our planning for this fixture.”
The club stated clearly that “matchday safety remains our top priority,” and that a smaller allocation would enable stronger controls at the ground.
According to Rangers, “a reduced allocation allows greater individual ticket-holder accountability, stronger ingress controls, enhanced segregation and additional safeguards appropriate to the risk identified for this fixture.”
Rangers also pointed to events beyond March, noting that “since 8 March, there have also been further pitch invasions involving Celtic supporters” as a further consideration in their planning.
The club referenced findings from the Blackbourne Report, which demonstrated how quickly an initial pitch incursion can escalate into wider disorder if not properly managed.
Rangers concluded that preventing another pitch incursion formed an important part of reducing the overall risk of disorder at the upcoming fixture.
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