Police poised to rip up Old Firm match rulebook

Cop signals overhaul after ticket row:

COPS may be forced to change the way they police Old Firm matches on the back of Celtic and Rangers’ away ticket spat.

Rangers released a statement on Thursday revealing Hoops f ans would see their 7000 allocation at Ibrox chopped to around 800, while a Parkhead statement suggested the SPL champions would do likewise at Celtic Park.

The change would see the famous fixture played in front of partisan crowds on both sides of the city, with only a small pocket of away supporters making up the numbers.

Over the years police chiefs have fine tuned their security operation when the two clubs meet for both getting fans in and around the ground as well as throughout the city.

However, it now appears the blueprint for policing the most hate-filled fixture in the Scottish football calendar will be altered.

Inspector Jennifer Aird of Police Scotland’s Operation Planning division, told the Evening Times: “It’s likely to change the dynamic of the policing and stewarding operation.

“However we will continue to work closely with the clubs and relevant agencies to ensure the safety of supporters in the stadium.”

Rangers cited a spike in season ticket sales as the reason behind the decision, which will see Celtic supporters moved from the entire Broomloan Stand and squeezed into the corner between the Broomloan and the Sandy Jardine stands.

Celtic’s statement moments later said the Parkhead club would be happy to ‘ reciprocate in terms of ticket allocation’, meaning the agreement between both for around 7000 away tickets each being abandoned.

A source told the Evening Times: “For years the police operation has been fine tuned for dealing with these games. The plan for each Old Firm match is plotted out on a game-by-game basis. However, dealing with safely getting 7000 visiting fans in and out of a stadium and potentially only 800 presents all different types of complications.

“The clubs and police will want to make sure the games pass off as peacefully as possible but the way the event is looked after in terms of police and stewarding will need to change.”

It emerged earlier this year that over half a million pounds has been spent on policing the Old Firm game in the last two years.

That included £206,796 on matches at Ibrox, £168,194 at Parkhead and £109,713 for cup matches at Hampden.