By support

26th May, 2018 | 2:21pm

'Not ideal' - former Celtic striker blasts Old Firm ticket allocation battle

Former Celtic striker Simon Donnelly has blasted the decision to cut the ticket allocation for away fans for next season’s Old Firm derbies.

Both teams’ allocations are set to be cut from around 7,000 tickets to 800, and Donnelly, who once played for a Celtic team whose fans were banned from Ibrox isn’t a fan of the decision.

“Derby matches are for the supporters. It is about the passion, the excitement, the bragging rights you name it” he said, as quoted by the Daily Record.

“It is the biggest match on the Scottish football calendar and the one that both sets of fans look out for every season.

“Having 800 Celtic fans at Ibrox and a similar number at Celtic Park is not ideal for both sets of supporters is it?”

The teams are set to meet for the first time next season at Celtic Park.

Football Insider verdict

Former players can moan all they like, but this decision is up to the clubs and it is just another example of the Old Firm at their best. Or should that be worst? Dave King wanted to make a statement by moving Hoops fans to the corner of the stadium and it was no surprise that Celtic followed suit, that is just the nature of the derby in Glasgow. Will it affect the atmosphere? Yes. Will the television companies and the police be happy about it? Probably not. But the clubs are free to do whatever they want. It wouldn’t be that much of a shock if eventually away fans were banned from the fixture completely and from some other games in Scotland. There have been disputes involving Rangers and Hibernian over tickets and it seems to have left a bad feeling between the clubs. Just like this latest Old Firm spat will lead to frosty relationships between Glasgow’s big two.

In other Celtic news, the Hoops number one transfer target is clear

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