Brendan Rodgers has welcomed the return of away fans for the upcoming Glasgow derbies, calling it “great news” for Scottish football.
After years of limited allocations, Celtic and Rangers have agreed to restore over 2,000 away supporters for the final two league meetings of the season. The first will take place at Celtic Park on March 16, with the return fixture at Ibrox after the split, with Celtic potentially already champions.
Rodgers believes the derby is a better spectacle when both sets of supporters are present.
“Everyone welcomes it because the game is a wonderful spectacle, but it’s everything with the supporters in there. To have both back is great news for the fixture, for the players and ultimately for the supporters because that’s who we play for. Good to hear. It’ll be good that the fans will be at Celtic Park.” [Sky Sports]
This marks a shift from recent years, where Rangers cut away allocations to just 800-900, leading to both clubs banning away fans altogether for some matches.
While this increase is a step forward, many—including Callum McGregor—believe the fixture would be better served by returning to pre-2018 levels of 7,500 away fans per game.
Nonetheless, March 16 will be the first time in years that a significant away crowd will be present in a Celtic vs Rangers clash—adding to the drama of what could take Celtic a step closer to lifting the league title.
If they win that derby, and every other match up until the split, they could be set to wrap up the league against Kilmarnock at Celtic Park.
