Celtic and Rangers have received major punishments following serious disorder during last season’s Scottish Cup quarter-final at Ibrox.
The Old Firm rivalry remains one of football’s fiercest fixtures, carrying enormous sporting and cultural significance across Glasgow.
Both clubs have experienced contrasting starts to the 2026–27 campaign before attention shifted back towards last season’s controversial derby.
Celtic opened their Scottish Premiership season with two victories but suffered an early Champions League qualifying elimination against LASK.
Rangers, meanwhile, failed to win either of their opening league matches and also exited Europe against Jablonec.
However, events from their previous Scottish Cup meeting have now produced significant consequences for both Glasgow clubs.
According to BBC Sport, Celtic and Rangers must play their next home Scottish Cup matches behind closed doors.
The punishment follows disorder after Celtic defeated Rangers on penalties during last season’s quarter-final at Ibrox.
Supporters from both clubs entered the pitch afterwards, creating scenes that led to police intervention and several arrests.
Fans also threw fireworks and other missiles, while police officers suffered injuries during the disturbances.
An independent review later concluded that the situation came extremely close to developing into a violent mass confrontation.
Both clubs subsequently faced charges under Scottish FA disciplinary rule 37, which covers unacceptable conduct at matches.
Alongside the stadium closures, Celtic and Rangers must each pay £100,000 to their opponents in those affected fixtures.
The sanctions should take effect when both clubs enter this season’s Scottish Cup in January.
A further incident involving unacceptable supporter conduct could also trigger a second consecutive home match without fans.
Celtic have expressed strong opposition to the punishment and believe the sanction does not properly reflect their supporters’ involvement.
The club also stressed that Rangers were responsible for stadium safety because the quarter-final took place at Ibrox.
Celtic will examine the panel’s reasoning before deciding their next steps, while Rangers have yet to respond publicly.
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