Rangers' Union Bears ultras have called on their fans to wear all black when they attend the Glasgow derby on Sunday as a show of solidarity. This comes after the group were banned from attending the fixture.
The Gers recently went to the SFA because they didn't agree with Celtic's conditions on away tickets - that condition being that no troublemakers would be given tickets. It was an understandable condition after the disturbing scenes at Ibrox last time out when a Hoops staff member was attacked by an encroaching fan.
The SFA didn't take long to make a decision, and they stood with the Parkhead side. It sets a precedent going forward that the home side will have a say on safety inside their ground, even if that means locking out some of the opponent's supporters.
Now, the Union Bears issued a secret message to fans attending the game during their clash against Hearts on Monday, which saw them all but knocked out of the title race after a 2-1 defeat. They want the 2,000 away supporters to turn up "all in black" as some sort of message, despite Celtic's decision being entirely justifiable.
Set to be a brilliant occasion
It's set to be a brilliant occasion as Celtic partake in one of the most important derbies in recent years. A loss would mean we are pretty much out of the title race, but a win sends us well on our way.
There is a genuine chance that the Jambos could drop points to Motherwell, so if we can do the job against Danny Rohl's side, then it could prove to be massive. As things stand, we still have a lot of goal difference to make up, so we can't afford to concede at all to Rangers.
The Gers have lost back-to-back games in the Scottish Premiership. They were defeated 2-3 by Motherwell at Ibrox, before suffering another loss at Tynecastle on Monday. They'll want to get one over on us at Celtic Park, but their form should give the Hoops a lot of confidence, especially with the title race on the line.
Daizen Maeda came limping off the pitch at Easter Road, but we can only hope that he will be fit for Sunday. It looked like he had some bruising around his foot, but we know the impact he can make against them. If we lose him, that will be a massive blow, but we'll need to wait and see how things pan out.
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