The SPFL is being questioned about ‘unreasonable’ Celtic in the Rangers dispute – Tom English

Tom English believes the SPFL must address the fact that Rangers will face Celtic without any away fans at Parkhead once more.

On December 19, the BBC Sport writer reacted on Twitter after the Light Blues issued a statement calling the situation “grossly unfair,” casting doubt on the league’s alleged corporate governance review.

There will be no Rangers fans at the Old Firm derby on December 30, despite the league’s sub-committee siding with the club on the decision that it was “unreasonable” for Celtic to allow zero away fans, after the Bhoys simply failed to provide enough evidence for the committee to decide how many.

Questions for the SPFL to answer here. When did ‘unreasonable’ become acceptable? And how’s the corporate governance review coming along? https://t.co/0h4cjMZYfX

— Tom English (@TEnglishSport) December 19, 2023

English wrote in response to the Gers’ statement on the ticketing stand-off: “Questions for the SPFL to answer here. When did ‘unreasonable’ become acceptable?

“And how’s the corporate governance review coming along?”

The “independent review” was announced by SPFL chairman Murdoch MacLennan in the summer, after the league was forced to apologize to Rangers over the cinch sponsorship row [STV, 14 July].

Unsuitable for the task

Simply put, if the sub-committee can decide to support Rangers’ stance only for the outcome to be the opposite due to Celtic’s refusal to cooperate, then the exercise was a complete waste of time.

Due to squabbling at the executive level, the chorus of voices advocating for the return of away fans in Old Firm derbies at Ibrox and Parkhead continues to fall on deaf ears.

Nobody benefits from the current situation, so it is a positive step for the Rangers hierarchy to be pushing to bring back traveling support to the game.

But if the SPFL can support that stance while doing nothing to see it implemented, then their supposed authority is meaningless, and if the governance review is taking place, it doesn’t appear to be having much of an impact if the Gers have been left on the wrong end of another important decision for such a ridiculous reason.

The atmosphere at one of the biggest derbies in world football suffers without fans from one club in attendance, and finger-pointing over who started it long ago wore thin, but despite Ibrox’s willingness, it appears no closer to resolution.

The league authorities are supposed to step in to handle situations like this, but the SPFL has proven to be completely powerless in this regard.

In other news, Celtic responds to Rangers’ ‘grossly unfair’ statement on Tuesday’s development.