FANS LOCKED OUT OF IBROX
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and sent to Parkhead. But Rangers have pulled the plug after they couldn’t get cast-iron guarantees the situation would be reversed when the sides meet in the return in January.
It is believed Celtic were hopeful of allowing Gers fans in for that game but couldn’t fully commit due to their current red zone protocols, which they are optimistic of being lifted in the coming weeks.
But Ibrox bosses wanted the away numbers written in stone and with talks stalling they have now told their rivals no Celtic fans will be getting into the stadium next Sunday.
Celtic chiefs have been left stunned – they were hoping to ramp up talks about the reinstatement of previous allocations for away fans of up to 7000.
But it now looks unlikely with the boardrooms at odds over the first encounter of the season.
Meanwhile, Celtic are poised to announce new arrival Josip Juranovic after the Croat was last night being put through his Parkhead medical with a view to completing his £2.6million move from Legia Warsaw.
The full-back has agreed a four-year deal and boss Ange Postecoglou is hoping to have the 26-year-old on board for Monday morning.
Celtic are also battling it out with Werder Bremen for Greek forward Georgios Giakoumakis – and Shamrock Rovers defender Liam Scales is also close to completing his switch to Scotland. Hopes of landing Spurs defender Cameron Carter-Vickers have suffered a blow after the USA defender was crocked in Thursday’s Europa League defeat to Pacos de Ferreira.
The £5m centre-back needs scans and that could scupper any chances of a loan deal.
Hoops manager Ange Postecoglou said: “We are working on deals. Nothing is concluded yet. It’s one of those where hopefully we will be in a position to announce something early next week if not sooner.
“From my perspective, we’re still working on a number of deals and hopefully we will get conclusion on those in the next few days. We will definitely get conclusion before the end of next week because we will have players in by then.”
The gaffer’s immediate focus is on St Mirren today – who will be missing Jim Goodwin with the boss laid up with Covid.
Postecoglou admitted he has sympathy for his Buddies counterpart but Parkhead chiefs are continuing to keep their protocols in place to protect the playing staff.
He said: “It’s not a reminder because that’s our existence at the moment. I know things are beginning to get back to semi-normal out there but within the confines of our walls at Lennoxtown we’re still following the protocols, there’s still mask-wearing and social distancing. We’re protecting ourselves.
“It still has an impact in society and in sport. We very much live with it as an organisation. Hopefully Jim won’t have any symptoms and he gets back on the coaching bench quickly.
“I stick to my remit. There are people more qualified than me, with years and years of education and experience to make these kind of calls.
“If a medical professional came in to the building and told me how to pick my first 11, I’d pretty much tell him where to go and he could tell me where to go when it came to protocols.”