'Away allocations will do well to survive this'

Will the latest Old Firm ticket row signal the end of away allocations in the fixture? The SPFL are this week due to decide whether to uphold Celtic's refusal to give Rangers tickets for the derby at Parkhead on 10 May unless the Union Bears ultras group is excluded. The row comes in the aftermath of disorder at the Scottish Cup quarter-final on 8 March when spectators from both clubs entered the pitch after Celtic won on penalties at Ibrox.

It is an issue "so toxic" that the league sub-committee responsible for the adjudication should be "wearing hazmat suits", says The Herald football writer Stephen McGowan. Speaking on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast , he added: "You fear for away allocations as we know them at the moment, I think they'll do well to survive us. "The SFA are having an independent inquiry at the moment where they will try and pin exactly where responsibility should be attributed for what happened on 8 March.

"They will make their findings known probably in the summer, the problem is they've got a game at Parkhead to get to before then on 10 May, and basically this comes down to a dispute between the two teams on how you should handle the Ultra problem. "Celtic think, as they've shown - they banned the Green Brigade for five months - it should be collective punishment, you should hit them en masse. Rangers take the view it should be more of an individual thing.

Celtic clearly think Rangers have been a bit weak on this issue. "Rangers say no, they can't lay down the law to us on who we can sell tickets to. It's the eternal story of football in Glasgow, it's two bitter rivals who will not yield to one another.