Three Clubs Sanctioned By SPFL

Both Glasgow Giants face reduced Hampden tickets, but it's a penalty that may have no impact on either team

The SPFL issued a statement in December, charging Celtic, Motherwell and Rangers with a formal notice of complaint under SPFL rule H34 - for their fans’ use of pyrotechnics at the Premier Sports Cup Semi-Finals.

The use of Pyro resulted in a 14 minute delay to kick off in the Celtic Vs Aberdeen game and a 5 minute delay to the Motherwell Vs Rangers game the next day. The SPFL announced that all three clubs would face a disciplinary hearing, and made a plea for the supporters at the Celtic Vs Rangers final not to use pyro. There was then flares used by both sets of fans in the final, resulting in a 3 minute delay to kick off.

These delays are obviously seen as completely unacceptable by the SPFL, and the disciplinary hearings have now occurred. All three clubs have been found guilty of breaching the rule by failing to ensure, as far is reasonably practicable that:

“that their supporters did not engage in “unacceptable conduct” at those matches. The clubs were also found to have failed to identify or take proportionate disciplinary measures against the supporters responsible for the pyrotechnic displays.”

The punishment for the three clubs for the Semi Final offence is a suspended sanction of a reduction of 800 tickets for a future Premier Sports Cup match to be played at Hampden. This means that the clubs will only see the reduction of 800 tickets if there is another breach in the next 2 years.

For Rangers and Celtic, due to their second breach in the Final, they both face an immediate reduction of 500 tickets for the next Premier Sports Cup match to be played at Hampden. Therefore, should either team reach the Semi Final of the 2025/26 Premier Sports Cup, their fans will see a 500 ticket reduction in their allocation.

It’s clearly an attempt at a clampdown on pyro use by the SPFL, and withholding tickets from fans is one way to try and stop pyro. However when scrutinised below, we can see that the punishment might not actually be that effective.