Thistle warn against Celtic fans in home end

CELTIC fans are set to make up 85 per cent of the crowd away to Partick Thistle in Saturday’s Scottish Cup tie after snapping up almost 8,000 tickets.

But followers of the Parkhead club who try to swell that figure even further by gaining entry to the home section for the fourthround clash have been warned they will not be allowed into Firhill.

The Maryhill side previously announced that away supporters would be housed in the Jackie Husband and John Lambie stands, which jointly hold around 7,700. Those arrangements were based on previous low levels of sales of tickets for home cup ties against the Scottish champions.

While Celtic fans have sold out their allocation, demand has not been high amongst Thistle supporters, who have been forced to move seats to accommodate the visitors. They have snapped up around 1,000 tickets for the 2,000 capacity Colin Weir Stand.

But that modest take-up has led ticketless Parkhead fans to buy briefs for the Colin Weir Stand.

Celtic’s supporter liaison officer has warned away fans not to seek entry to the home end on Saturday but there are fears among Thistle supporters over how their club will be able to identify anyone not wearing club colours.

However, in response to those concerns, a Thistle spokesman told Sportsmail: ‘As agreed with Celtic Football Club, Celtic fans will not be admitted to the Colin Weir Stand.

‘Any Celtic supporters who have bought tickets for this stand should contact Partick Thistle to receive a refund.’