NafisaThe dust has barely settled on the League Cup quarter-final draw, yet Celtic supporters are already asking one question above everything else.
How many Hoops fans will actually be inside Ibrox when Rangers host Celtic?
The draw has delivered another Old Firm showdown, with Derek McInnes’ Rangers handed home advantage against Martin O’Neill’s Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals.
It is the kind of fixture that instantly dominates Scottish football.
The rivalry, the atmosphere, the history and the sheer importance of a knockout tie between the Glasgow giants mean demand for tickets will be enormous.
But there is a major reason Celtic supporters should not automatically expect the huge allocation they received the last time they travelled to Ibrox in a domestic cup competition.
And it all comes down to the rules.
Why Celtic cannot demand 20 per cent this time
Celtic supporters will remember the Scottish Cup quarter-final at Ibrox last season, when thousands of travelling Hoops fans packed into the Broomloan Stand.
That fixture was played under Scottish Cup regulations which allow visiting clubs to claim up to 20 per cent of the permitted stadium capacity.
That meant Celtic were able to secure a substantial travelling support for the Rangers clash.
However, the League Cup operates under a different set of regulations.
The newly published SPFL 2026/27 League Cup regulations do not contain an equivalent provision guaranteeing an away club 20 per cent of the stadium.
That is the crucial distinction.
There is therefore no automatic rule giving Celtic 20 per cent of Ibrox for this quarter-final.
And that immediately changes the conversation.
What do the League Cup regulations actually say?
Regulation 11 deals with admission arrangements for visiting clubs.
However, the specific numbers contained within that section relate to complimentary tickets rather than a guaranteed supporter allocation.
The home club must provide 10 tickets for the Directors’ Box and 40 tickets for the stand for the visiting club.
There is no specific minimum percentage of the stadium reserved for travelling supporters.
That means the number of Celtic supporters permitted into Ibrox for the quarter-final will have to be determined through the arrangements between the two clubs.
And given the history between Celtic and Rangers when it comes to away allocations, that is where things could become particularly interesting.
The 2,500 figure could become the key number
While nothing has officially confirmed Celtic’s allocation yet, the expectation is that the clubs could ultimately settle around the same sort of 2,500-ticket arrangement used for league fixtures.
That would represent a dramatically smaller travelling support than Celtic enjoyed during last season’s Scottish Cup quarter-final.
And it would also mean thousands of Celtic supporters who would ordinarily expect to attend an Old Firm cup tie could miss out.
The important point, however, is that 2,500 is currently an expectation rather than an officially confirmed allocation.
The final figure still needs to be established.
Recent Old Firm history makes this even more sensitive
Ticketing has become one of the most contentious aspects of the Old Firm rivalry in recent years.
Both clubs have operated with heavily reduced away allocations for certain fixtures, while the traditional large travelling supports have largely disappeared from league meetings.
There was a major change for last season’s Scottish Cup quarter-final at Ibrox, however, when the return of a much larger away allocation allowed approximately 8,000 Celtic supporters to make the trip.
That created the kind of Old Firm atmosphere that had become increasingly rare.
But the League Cup does not automatically offer Celtic the same entitlement.
And there is another layer to the situation.
The two clubs will not simply meet once.
Celtic and Rangers face each other twice in September
The League Cup quarter-final is scheduled for the weekend of September 12/13.
Then, just days later, the rivalry moves to Celtic Park.
Rangers are scheduled to visit Celtic in the Premiership on September 20, meaning McInnes and O’Neill could find themselves preparing for two Old Firm encounters in extremely quick succession.
That makes the ticketing arrangements for the Ibrox cup tie even more intriguing.
Both clubs will know that demand will be enormous.
But unless Rangers and Celtic agree something different, there is no League Cup regulation automatically forcing Ibrox to hand over a 20 per cent allocation.
The final decision could come down to the clubs
The SPFL’s general rules do contain wording concerning visiting supporters and a “reasonable number” of away fans, with arrangements generally agreed between clubs.
However, those provisions specifically refer to league and play-off matches, meaning they cannot simply be treated as a guaranteed League Cup entitlement.
That leaves the clubs with the task of settling the precise arrangements for this particular fixture.
And that is why the coming days could be crucial.
Celtic will want as many supporters as possible inside Ibrox.
Rangers, meanwhile, will be keen to maximise their home support for a massive knockout fixture under McInnes.
For now, around 2,500 Celtic tickets looks like the likely landing point, based on the current league-style arrangement — but supporters should wait for the official announcement before treating that figure as confirmed.
One thing is already certain, though.
The first Old Firm showdown of the season is guaranteed to be explosive — and the battle over who gets inside Ibrox could become the first confrontation before a ball is even kicked.
Nafisa
