Rangers ditch Old Firm clash in US for tournament Down Under

RANGERS have withdrawn from the proposed meeting with Celtic in Boston this summer and will instead pursue an invitation to take part in a tournament in Australia.

• Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, was the proposed venue for an Old Firm 'friendly' this summer. Picture: Getty Images

The Fenway Sports Group had been keen to stage the very first Old Firm match outside Scotland at Fenway Park, home of baseball's Boston Red Sox, in July.

Several factors, however, convinced Ibrox officials to plump for making money as opposed to history as they plan their pre-season schedule.

A summer visit to the USA had been under serious consideration, with games in Dallas and Washington provisionally arranged before the clash with Celtic but Rangers have now opted to head Down Under.

The Glasgow giants had been tipped to fill Fenway Park to its 39,928 capacity, mainly due to the large Celtic diaspora in the New England area.

Yet the potential for crowd trouble, which increased when the Boston Globe published an article recently listing a long list of offences by Rangers supporters away from Scottish soil, was only one deterrent.

Rangers were unhappy with that slur and the newspaper published a partial apology but there were fears that the piece may have provoked trouble between rival supporters attending the match.

• Plans to take the Old Firm experience overseas have been put on hold

Instead, the SPL champions will head to Sydney, where they will play three matches, with their opponents looking likely to be Boca Juniors from Argentina, Blackburn Rovers and local team Sydney FC.

The about-turn was confirmed last night by Rangers chief executive Martin Bain.

"In recent weeks the club has been discussing the possibility of a US tour and an Old Firm game in Boston," he said.

"However, after all the facts had been considered we have decided not to pursue that.

"Instead, there is the possibility of matches in Australia and an announcement on that will be made in the next couple of days."

A Rangers visit to Australia's largest city, where all three games are likely to be played, would attract huge interest from Scottish expatriates in the area.

It's believed that the financially troubled club would also earn more money by heading for New South Wales than they could expect in New England.

Going to Australia has the added benefit of allowing Rangers, who go straight into the Champions League at the group stage, to re-start their pre-season work slightly later than if they go to America.