Rangers-Celtic Ibrox damage bill amount revealed as club chief answers Old Firm ticket allocation poser
Club officials keen to pursue full compensation
Rangers say they will keep fighting for a significant compensation pay-out in the wake of March’s Scottish Cup quarter-final against Celtic.
The Ibrox club state that “extensive damage” amounting to £1.3 million was caused by Celtic fans during a high-octane Old Firm clash which went the way of the visitors after a penalty shoot-out.
It has been reported that LED advertising boards are part of the bill and while Celtic are under the impression that compensation is capped at £50,000, Rangers believe they are able to recoup more.
The matter is currently with the Scottish Football Association. Both Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh and chief executive Jim Gillespie had their say on the matter.
Cavenagh said: “I think the basics are known. We think the damage caused by their supporters is roughly £1.3m. We have asked them to pay for that, there’s a dispute over that, but we won’t get into tit-for-tat via the media. We’ll have that conversation with Celtic and the league and SFA.
“We’ve suffered extensive damage and expect to be remedied for that. There are multiple avenues for that. There are rules but also ways to arbitrate and seek recovery for that.”
Gillespie commented: “We have a position. There is historic SFA rules in place but they are not the only guidelines or legislative processes tat can be invoked. We’ll continue talking to both the SFA, Celtic and see what comes.”
Despite the dispute and a subsequent disagreement over who from the Rangers support could attend the final Old Firm Premiership match of the season earlier this month at Celtic Park, Ibrox officials believe that both clubs are entitled to an away ticket allocation of approximately 2,500 next season.
“Still in place,” said Gillespie of the arrangement, “but you will all know of the SPFL hearing outcome. What that did was isolate the potential for the home club to determine how many and who could attend.
“We’ve been very clear to ask the SPFL to make the hearing outcome submissions public so everyone can get a better learning and understanding of it. We’ll see how this goes in the next week or two.”
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