Discussion surrounding away allocations is a subject never too far from the minds of Celtic supporters who follow their side all over the country and abroad.
While the Bhoys’ hardcore always ensure a strong vocal presence is active in the green and white corner, there is a trend of cutting visiting numbers among Scottish Premiership clubs that has sparked plenty of debate.
For example, Celtic will have around 650 fans in attendance at Hearts this weekend. Despite no love lost in a fixture between two sides who always put on a fiery spectacle, there will only be a small contingent backing the Bhoys from the stands.
Away supporters in Glasgow Derby matches will return next year after a delay due to Rangers failing to deliver on stadium works in time earlier this term, while allocations have also been reduced at Hibernian, Kilmarnock and St Johnstone in recent years.
Encouragingly, St Johnstone have hinted at an increased Celtic allocation from 2025/26 after Fran Smith addressed the situation, an area that Peter Grant also has plenty to vent about.
Peter Grant’s passionate Celtic allocation plea
Speaking on the Go Radio Football Show, Grant believes it is ‘absolutely ridiculous’ that Celtic don’t have a greater allocation at some away venues and compared the scenario to his own time at the club, which presents a stark difference in attitude.
“Absolutely, going back to the time I was playing with Celtic, and I’m sure it was the same with Barry; he came much later than me. Every away game was sold out; when I was a kid supporting Celtic and going to the games, you couldn’t get a ticket for love or money.
“Then you got lifted over at that particular time! You were watching the game on people’s shoulders because there was no space, and that was everywhere because it was affordable and people wanted to do it.
I’ve got so many friends that say to me that they can’t get a ticket because our bus never got a ticket in the ballot, we’ve been cut again.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous that we’re trying to get young players to come and play football, but we’re not going to allow them to watch with their parents to watch a game because we’re banning by saying you can’t come to watch Celtic play St Johnstone at St Jonnstone, or Rangers coming to St Johnstone, it’s absolutely ridiculous.”
Away fans are vital to create a memorable spectacle
Without insulting anyone’s intelligence, everyone can agree that football is best served with two opposing sets of fans bouncing off each other to create a compelling atmosphere in the stands.
More often than not, that energy transcends onto the pitch, with match hype becoming supercharged. There are also benefits regarding the product broadcasters are able to sell to their viewership, which, in turn, will raise the profile of the Scottish game and potentially bring it to a wider audience.
However, some clubs have pushed back to an extent against the idea. Sure, they’ll have their own reasons for that, but is it really that hard to meet somewhere in the middle? Who knows.
