Someone told me Rangers banning Celtic fans was my fault says Brendan Rodgers before 'real shame' verdict

Brendan Rodgers reckons it’s a crying shame away fans are being shut out of Old Firm games. Even though Celtic fans believe he is the one that sparked the escalating ticket wars between the Glasgow giants.

Rodgers will return to Ibrox tomorrow but it will be a different ball game to when he practically owned the joint during his first spell in charge. Back then Celtic fans would fill the Broomloan Stand but it wasn’t long after results like the 5-1 win or the 3-2 victory with 10 men, Ibrox chiefs decided to cut the allocation down to under 800 and now with safety concerns at both grounds, it seems like away fans are gone altogether for the foreseeable future.

Rodgers laughs off the accusation he’s responsible for the present day stalemate – but he is convinced the derby has been diminished as a spectacle regardless of how we got here. The Irishman said: “Someone told me that (I was to blame)! Amongst all the other things that are my fault...

“It’s just a real shame that there are no away supporters, in terms of the game itself. It’s a shame for supporters not being able to be there and a shame for players as well.

“When you are an away player, even a home player, and you run out to these games at Ibrox to see the away end full it was a brilliant feeling. It was brilliant for a Celtic manager and player and I’m sure it was a great feeling as well for a Rangers player to run out and want to prove to their own supporters how much they want to win.

“I just think that, with regards to the whole dynamic of it, the game is worse off. This game is iconic around the world and having been involved in Liverpool v Manchester United games and Liverpool v Everton games, this is on a different scale altogether.

“It’s not always just