The Scottish FA and Scottish Professional Football League are failing Scottish football by not finding a way to resolve the Celtic-Rangers dispute over away fans.
We now know that there will be no away fans for the Old Firm fixtures this season due to the trouble we saw in last season's Scottish Cup clash at Ibrox. That led to a punishment for both Celtic and Rangers to play their next Scottish Cup games behind closed doors, while differing security measures have been lined up for the Old Firm games.
Rangers then offered Celtic 300 tickets for the next meeting, a Premier Sports Cup clash, which the Bhoys rejected, and after discussions between the clubs and league authorities, it has been confirmed that no away fans will be present at any of the Old Firm fixtures.
"I think that was inevitable, really, after Rangers were offering 300 tickets, and I think we refused that," Celtic boss Martin O'Neill said on Friday.
"And I think it was just inevitable that that's the decision that the powers that be would make, eventually, or make for them. Really sad, I must admit, from a normal punter's viewpoint. It's still a great fixture. I've said this on a few times. I still looked forward to it when I wasn't involved. Yeah, really sad."
Authorities have failed Scottish football
Look, the league authorities have been put in a difficult position by misbehaving supporters. Yes, the blame game can be played, and anyone with eyes could see who the main aggressors were during that Scottish Cup fixture, but whether it's last season or on other occasions, both sets of fans have played their part in the trouble over the years.
But while such supporters have to be weeded out of the game, the solution is not to prevent the well-behaved supporters from attending these fixtures.
With no disrespect to other clubs, the Old Firm is the biggest product Scottish football has, and without the fans, the fixture just isn't the same. Football fans from around the world tune in to see the intensity of the fixture, which comes from the two sets of fans playing their part.
For many worldwide neutrals, it may be the only times they tune into Scottish football all season. That's how big this fixture is.
For the so-called best solution to be dumbing down the fixture by stopping away fans from attending is a clear failure. We can talk about why this has happened, we can talk about the need for rules preventing Rangers from offering such a low allocation, and those rules should be in place.
But the bottom line is, whatever the solution should be, it is a giant failure for this so-called solution to have been selected. There are huge derbies around the world, a select few that are just as intense, and the authorities are able to operate them properly.
Find better answers and find better solutions to the issues, it is what league organisers and the police are paid to do. The loyal and well-behaved fans should not be paying the price.
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