Celtic and Rangers will both be forced to play their next home Scottish Cup ties behind closed doors after failing to overturn the central part of their punishments for disorder at last season’s Old Firm cup clash.
The Scottish FA confirmed on Thursday that an appellate tribunal had upheld the stadium closures imposed on both Glasgow clubs following the Scottish Cup quarter-final at Ibrox on 8 March.
The appeals were partially successful, with additional suspended stadium closures and compensation orders removed. However, the immediate bans on supporters remain in place.
It means Celtic’s next Scottish Cup match at Celtic Park and Rangers’ next tie at Ibrox in the competition will have to take place without supporters.
Both clubs had admitted breaches of Scottish FA Disciplinary Rule 37 following scenes at Ibrox after Celtic defeated Rangers 4-2 on penalties.
Supporters entered the pitch following the shoot-out, with rival fans clashing and missiles and pyrotechnics thrown during the disorder. Police later made 37 arrests.
The original disciplinary hearings in August ordered both Celtic and Rangers to play their next home Scottish Cup matches behind closed doors.
Each club was also ordered to pay £100,000 to the visiting side to compensate for the loss of ticket revenue.
A further closed-door Scottish Cup match and another £100,000 payment were suspended until the end of the 2027/28 season and would have been triggered by another breach involving unacceptable conduct.
Celtic and Rangers appealed against the punishments, with their cases heard by an Scottish FA appellate tribunal on Monday.
The tribunal has now removed the suspended second stadium closure and suspended £100,000 payment for both clubs.
However, it upheld the order forcing their next home Scottish Cup matches to be played behind closed doors.
The immediate £100,000 compensation payments also remain, although the tribunal introduced an exception.
Rangers will not have to make the payment if Celtic are drawn as the visiting club in their next home Scottish Cup tie. Celtic will similarly avoid the payment if Rangers are the visitors at Celtic Park.
The requirement to play behind closed doors would still apply if the clubs were drawn against each other.
Celtic said they remained “extremely disappointed” by what the club described as an “excessive and disproportionate punishment”.
The club said it accepted that supporters entering the field of play was wrong but argued that a “false equivalence” had been drawn between the behaviour of the two groups of fans.
Celtic also maintained that it had no responsibility for stadium safety arrangements at Ibrox.
The Scottish FA’s original disciplinary ruling followed serious disorder at the end of the March cup tie.
A subsequent report found that several hundred Celtic supporters entered the pitch following their side’s victory, prompting a hostile response from sections of the Rangers support.
The stadium closures will take effect when each club is next drawn at home in the Scottish Cup.