Chris Sutton Brilliantly Defends Celtic’s Derby Fan Decision

Chris Sutton has supported Celtic’s decision to withdraw away fan tickets for the upcoming derby, following revelations that Rangers have not yet initiated agreed-upon safety measures at Ibrox.

This move comes after Celtic met their responsibilities by securing the necessary planning permissions and completing safety installations for visiting fans.

The controversy heated up when it became clear that Rangers had not even applied for planning permission to start their safety upgrades, despite assurances given to Celtic. This lack of progress has led Celtic to suspend the away fan agreement for the first derby match of the season.

During Friday’s press conference, Celtic’s manager Brendan Rodgers stressed that the issue is solely on Rangers’ end, urging the media to stop implicating Celtic in the ongoing dispute.

Chris Sutton, writing in the Daily Record, pointed out the inconsistency and opacity that has characterized Rangers’ communications with their own fans regarding the state of Ibrox, which is currently undergoing renovations with no confirmed completion date. Sutton argued that if Rangers cannot be transparent with their own supporters, their assurances regarding safety measures for Celtic fans are unreliable.

He wrote: “If Rangers can’t be straight with their own fans, how can they take their word at face value when it comes to Celtic supporters? It looks to me the agreement reached last March was on the provision that certain safety measures were made in the wake of previous problems. Celtic have held up their side of the bargain and got the planning permission and the work done ahead of the first derby. But what about Rangers? I get the fact the return Game is months away and there’s still time to sort it.

“Unless there are plans set in stone, though, then how can Celtic know for sure they will be carried out? After all, this is a Rangers board who can’t even tell their own supporters if they will even be back at Ibrox by that point. So they’d be telling the Celtic board, ‘trust us, it’ll be alright on the night’. I don’t think so.”