Old Firm Matches to Exclude Away Fans in 2023

One of world football’s most volatile fixtures is about to lose one of its defining features. There will be no away fans at any Old Firm games in this season’s Premiership or League Cup, after the SPFL confirmed a sweeping lockout for meetings between Celtic and Rangers.

The decision follows months of tension off the pitch and an independent review sparked by clashes between rival supporters after the Scottish Cup tie in March. What began as a long-running argument over allocations has ended, for now, with the most drastic solution of all: no away support, at either ground.

From 5% Allocation to Total Lockout

Both clubs had previously signed up to a standard formula: away fans would receive five per cent of the stadium capacity for SPFL fixtures. At Ibrox and Celtic Park, that meant thousands of travelling supporters, a heaving, hostile strip of colour cutting into the home end and feeding the spectacle that has sold this derby around the world.

That agreement has been ripped up.

When the clubs were drawn together in the Premier Sports Cup, Rangers moved first. For the tie at Ibrox on 13 September, they offered Celtic just 300 tickets, a fraction of the roughly 2,500 that five per cent would have delivered. The club framed it as a response to “circumstances and risks” linked to that specific fixture.

Celtic said no. The offer was rejected, and with the league meeting at Parkhead just a week later, the stand-off left the SPFL facing a familiar Old Firm problem: two clubs unwilling to budge, a derby looming, and no clear solution.

This time, the league stepped in.

Safety First, Atmosphere Second

After talks involving Celtic, Rangers, the SPFL, Police Scotland and other stakeholders, the governing body ruled that away fans will be locked out of all Old Firm clashes in the Premiership and League Cup this season.

The SPFL described it as a “temporary arrangement”, designed to give time to digest the findings of the independent review, implement recommendations and plan future fixtures “thoroughly”. Safety and security, the statement stressed, remain the priority.

For supporters, the league argued, this call at least brings clarity. No more late wrangling over allocations. No more last-minute changes. Everyone now knows where they stand, even if many will hate the outcome.

The derby, though, will look and feel different. No pocket of green in the Broomloan. No blue wedge high in the corner at Parkhead. Two of the most charged away ends in European football will fall silent, even as the noise from the home support swells to fill the void.

What Happens Next?

The SPFL has left the door open to change if “circumstances materially change during the season”. All parties, it says, have committed to work “constructively” through this period.

Longer term, the issue stretches beyond the next few months. Arrangements for matches between Celtic and Rangers after this campaign will be considered well in advance of the 2027/28 season, a timeline that underlines just how deep-rooted and complex this problem has become.

For now, the Old Firm will rage on in front of one set of fans only. The question is whether Scottish football can find a way back to a derby that is both safe and shared – or whether this season marks the start of a new, more insular era for its most famous fixture.