"I was a really big advocate, from a distance, of feeling that without away fans, without the full allocation of away fans, I thought the Old Firm game, still a fantastic fixture, had lost some of its lustre. I thought the noise emanating from Ibrox, both last Sunday and the Sunday before that, even though we'd only 2,500 people, was something I have not heard for a long, long time."
"So, there's something really magical about it and I'm really, obviously, quite saddened by the events. Saddened seems almost like you're minimising or downplaying things. But overall it's a shame because I think the things that I was hoping that would happen, and happened for a long time, may now not happen anymore."
Martin O'Neill expresses concern that recent crowd trouble during Celtic's penalty victory over Rangers in the Scottish Cup quarter-final could lead to permanent restrictions on away fan allocations at Old Firm matches. The fixture marked the first Old Firm clash since 2018 to feature a full away allocation of approximately 7,500 supporters. Supporters from both sides invaded the pitch after the match, resulting in nine arrests. O'Neill had previously advocated for larger away crowds, believing they enhance the atmosphere and intensity of the fixture. He regrets that the violent incidents may reverse progress toward restoring full allocations, potentially diminishing the spectacle of future Old Firm derbies.
Read at 101GREATGOALS.COM
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]