Celtic & Rangers to play Scottish Cup ties behind closed doors after fan disorder

Celtic and Rangers have both been ordered to play their next home Scottish Cup matches behind closed doors after last season's quarter-final was marred by fan disorder.

Both clubs will also have to pay £100,000 to the team they are drawn against in that fixture.

The two clubs could also face a second home match without fans if there is a further incident of either side's supporters engaging in "unacceptable conduct" in a Scottish Cup fixture.

Celtic progressed to last season's semi-finals by beating Rangers on penalties at Ibrox, after which fans of both teams spilled on to the pitch.

The sanctions are likely to come into force when both sides enter this season's Scottish Cup at the fourth-round stage in the middle of January.

Three more arrests after Old Firm fan disorder

Sanctions signal SFA shift in approach - analysis

The sanctions relate to the scenes in March after Celtic's penalty shootout victory, when supporters threw fireworks and other missiles, police officers were injured and a number of arrests were made.

Both clubs gave evidence to an independent judicial panel after being charged under the Scottish FA's disciplinary rule 37, which covers unacceptable conduct at matches.

An independent review published last month concluded the incident came within a "very small margin" of becoming a violent mass confrontation.

The report, led by Mark Blackbourne, identified failings by both clubs and criticised the Scottish FA for not taking a tougher approach to crowd disorder.

In the recent past, the SFA and SPFL have handed down fines and, on occasion, reduced ticket allocations for issues such as the use of pyrotechnics, but the severity of this sanction signals a shift in approach.

The SFA has not escaped its share of the criticism by the independent review, but the panel's report provided the governing body with the cover it needed to get tougher on an ever-growing problem.

And while it comes as no surprise to see the clubs defending their positions, when the dust settles, the SFA will hope that these sanctions will send out a clear message that unacceptable conduct will no longer be tolerated.