The Scottish Premiership title race is heating up, and Rangers find themselves in a precarious position. Sitting third in the table, they trail Celtic by four points and Hearts by seven, with the season's defining stretch just around the corner. But off the pitch, a different kind of drama is unfolding—one that has Rangers fans up in arms.
Celtic have confirmed that the Union Bears, Rangers' prominent supporter group, will not receive ticket allocations for the upcoming Old Firm derby at Celtic Park. The decision has sparked outrage among the Ibrox faithful, but not everyone is questioning its validity.
Keith Wyness, former Aberdeen chief executive and a seasoned football consultant with stints at Everton and Aston Villa, has thrown his full support behind Celtic's move. Speaking on Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, Wyness didn't mince words. He argued that both the Union Bears and Celtic's own Green Brigade have brought shame upon their clubs through repeated misconduct.
"It's perfectly fair to say that some of the Green Brigade from Celtic and the Union Bears from Rangers have brought disgrace on each of their clubs," Wyness stated. He emphasized that the ban isn't aimed at all Rangers supporters, but specifically at the Union Bears—a group he believes both clubs know all too well as repeat offenders.
Wyness pointed to troubling incidents like pitch invasions and fans wearing masks inside stadiums as behaviors that have no place in modern football. "Turning up in your Spider-Man mask and pitch invasions—that shouldn't be the sort of thing we see at Old Firm games," he added.
His solution? Replace those allocations with more moderate fans from either side. "There are plenty of more moderate Rangers or Celtic fans who could fill an allocation. That's what should be encouraged until there's some decent behavior," Wyness explained.
While the decision may sting for Rangers supporters hoping to cheer their team on at Celtic Park, Wyness believes it's a necessary step. "It's very dangerous to get involved between Celtic and Rangers because no one side will ever give way to the other," he acknowledged. "But the clubs do know who they are, and they should be excluded from Old Firm games."
As the season hurtles toward its climax, the question remains: will this ban actually solve anything for the teams, the fans, or the game itself? For now, the focus shifts back to the pitch, where Rangers need to close that gap—with or without the Union Bears in the stands.