Celtic and Rangers fail to overturn Old Firm Scottish Cup stadium ban as SFA uphold decision

Celtic and Rangers will both be forced to play their next home Scottish Cup ties behind closed doors after losing their appeals against the sanctions imposed by the Scottish FA.

The decision means supporters of both Glasgow clubs will miss out on their teams' next home ties in the competition following last season's disorder at Ibrox Stadium.

Old Firm Scottish Cup ties to be played behind closed doors this season

An SFA appellate tribunal has dismissed the respective appeals presented by Celtic and Rangers on Monday, as per the BBC, upholding the stadium closure punishment announced in August.

Both clubs must also pay £100,000 to the visiting team in their respective home ties, although the tribunal has overturned the additional suspended stadium ban that would have applied following further disciplinary breaches.

The original sanctions followed disorder at the end of last season's Scottish Cup quarter-final at Ibrox, which Celtic won on penalties.

Supporters entered the pitch, with fireworks and other missiles thrown during the confrontations. Police officers were injured, and 43 arrests had been made by August 25th.

Celtic have criticised the outcome, describing the punishment as excessive and disproportionate while arguing that a false equivalence has been drawn between their supporters' celebrations and the behaviour of Rangers fans.

The Scottish champions also disputed being held responsible for stadium safety arrangements at Ibrox, arguing that they should not have received the same punishment as their rivals.

Rangers are still yet to publicly comment on the appeal decision.

An independent review led by Mark Blackbourne, published back in July, concluded that the incident came within a very small margin of becoming a violent mass confrontation. It also identified failings by both clubs and criticised the SFA's previous approach to crowd disorder.

Meanwhile, an agreement was reached in September to prevent away supporters from attending any of this season's SPFL Old Firm derbies.

FGG says: SFA sends clear message to Rangers and Celtic

The decision sends a clear message that incidents of this nature will carry serious consequences, regardless of the clubs involved or the circumstances surrounding the disorder.

However, it is undoubtedly disappointing for the thousands of supporters who played no part in the scenes at Ibrox but will now miss their next Scottish Cup away-free home occasion.

Rangers and Celtic must take responsibility for ensuring supporter safety, while finding ways to prevent a repeat of the disorder in the future.