Ex-PGMOL chief: Police Scotland ready to ban Celtic away fans for Rangers clash
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that the Scottish FA should ban away fans for the Old Firm fixture after the recent troubles in the derby.
Celtic and Rangers are set to face each other on either 12 September or 13 September after they both progressed in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals over the weekend.
However, recent derbies have been the victim of unpleasant scenes, with both sets of fans invading the Ibrox pitch in the Scottish Cup tie in March, which resulted in both supporters and fans getting injured.
As a result, in their following clash in May, the Hoops refused to give the Gers any tickets unless none of the seats would be made available to the Union Bears fans group, with Rangers eventually accepting the ticket allocation.
Now, with their first clash of the 2026-27 campaign on the horizon, Hackett believes that Celtic fans may be banned from entering Ibrox.
Keith Hackett: Scottish FA should ban away fans for Scottish League Cup derby
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Hackett explained why he believed Celtic fans should be banned from the upcoming Old Firm derby.
He said: “Whilst I'm never going to recommend government interference. The government has a responsibility to support a police operation that actually prevents the incidents that we've seen in the past.
“The home club have the responsibility and should put on additional stewards at each gate that thoroughly examine the fans as they go in. If that means a delayed kick-off time, that's the problem.
“Then I think that if they get the message out that there is likely to be delays at the turnstiles because of what we're going to do, then I think that, first of all, prevents flares and any projectiles that might be considered a danger to a player or a match official being taken inside the stadium.
“I think that they're at the point, frankly, where the easy option for me is to ban away fans from this fixture until they're satisfied that they're not going to have security risks or incidents that damage the image of the game. I think that would be a consideration for the police.
“Whilst I don't like government interference, I think the Minister for Sport in that area responsible needs to get involved to say, what are you doing? Because what has been happening is unacceptable.
“You're putting citizens at risk because what happens inside the stadium is not something that is allowed outside, so why should it be allowed inside the stadium?
“Security needs to be really high. The Scottish FA needs to say we're going to ban the away fans, and that will cause a fury.”
Scottish Cup quarter-final will be massive moment for Derek McInnes
Even if Rangers are to win all of their matches between now and the Scottish League Cup quarter-final, heavy pressure will still be on Derek McInnes going into the game.
So far, his reign has been nothing short of a disaster, with the Gers already out of the Europa League and five points behind Celtic in the Scottish Premiership title race.
However, if he were to knock the Hoops out of the cup, it could win him back a lot of support.
Likewise, a defeat could see many supporters turn their backs on the new manager, especially as it would prolong the club’s trophy drought.
Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if Rangers are able to overcome Celtic in the upcoming derby.