Celtic 'disappointed' in 9,000 crowd figure for Champions League qualifier

Celtic will be permitted 9,000 supporters at Parkhead next week for the visit of FC Midtjylland in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers.

The club met with the Glasgow City Council Safety Advisory Group on Friday and have been allocated an additional 7,000 capacity at Celtic Park for the European tie – on top of the permitted 2000 fans within the Scottish Government’s latest guidelines.

However a statement from the club admitted disappointment at the figure, echoing similar statements from Rangers earlier this week over their 2000 attendance for the visit of Arsenal this Saturday, but Parkhead chiefs have pledged to continue to push for greater numbers of fans for future games.

The decision follows news of Aberdeen’s successful application to have 5665 fans in Pittodrie for the Dons’ UEFA Conference League match with BK Hacken next month.

Celtic will have 2000 fans this weekend, then 9000 next week. Photo by Andrew Milligan/Pool via Getty Images)

Clubs are permitted up to 2000 fans under Scottish Government guidelines, but more can be allowed subject to local applications being accepted and assessed on a game-by-game basis.

That means only 2000 will be allowed for Ange Postecoglou’s first home match as manager, but more will be in the ground for the visit of ex-Celt Erik Sviatchenko and this Danish team-mates.

In a statement, Celtic explained: “Clearly, we have worked tirelessly in this area, we had pushed for many more fans to be given access and of course we are disappointed that more supporters will not be able to attend. However, we really look forward to welcoming our fans for the match on Tuesday, as we do on Saturday when we meet Preston North End.

“We can assure supporters we will be doing all we can to work closely with the relevant authorities and welcome our fans back in even greater numbers in the coming weeks.

“We want nothing more than to welcome as many fans back to the stadium as quickly as possible, and therefore appreciate your patience as we continue to work behind the scenes to make that happen.”

The process to decide upon which supporters will be attending the match – and how to apply – should be known within 24 hours.

Earlier this week Rangers also expressed disappointment over their capacity for the visit of Arsenal and the Ibrox club pledged to seek further supporters’ admittance for future games, including Real Madrid, next weekend.

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