Explained: Why Celtic women fans have been banned from attending Rangers Old Firm derby clash just 24 hours before game is due to start

The two sides meet on Sunday afternoon with Rangers enjoying a four-point lead over their rivals at the top of the league. But the game will now go ahead without away supporters after Rangers say they received intelligence about a number of tickets being purchased by fans perceived to pose a security risk requiring policing to be sourced at late notice.

The Ibrox club explained in a statement that they were not prepared to take the risk of allowing fans they deemed a 'risk' to attend a fixture that was not due to have a police presence. After Celtic's refusal to cancel tickets of people deemed to be a threat, Rangers chose to cancel the entire away allocation.

Rangers announced via their website: "It is with regret that all tickets purchased by Celtic FC supporters for Sunday’s match at Ibrox have sadly had to be cancelled.

"Intelligence received by Rangers and Celtic on Thursday suggested groups of ‘risk’ supporters in a significant number had purchased tickets from the Celtic allocation.

"Rangers called an urgent operational meeting between both clubs and Police Scotland, with Police Scotland indicating they would need to deploy a sizeable resource at short notice as opposed to it initially being a police-free fixture.

"Rangers is committed to ensuring there are away supporters at our matches for both our men’s and women’s teams. However, a unique selling point of the women’s game is the unsegregated, family-friendly atmosphere, with many children attending these matches.

"Taking all of that into account, Rangers’ security team decided it would be unsafe to allow these ‘risk’ supporters into the stadium, and with Celtic unwilling to cancel just their tickets, the decision to cancel all tickets was taken."

A Celtic statement read: "It has been confirmed to Celtic Football Club just this morning that all away tickets will be cancelled for tomorrow's women's SWPL match at Ibrox Stadium.

"At a time when so many are working so hard to promote and support the women's game in Scotland, the decision to deny access to so many fans is hugely disappointing, even more so given that there were a number of options available to the home club to allow our fans to safely attend in a stadium of such capacity and given the expected crowd.

"Celtic will liaise with the home club regarding refunds for all tickets and will communicate to our supporters who had purchased tickets as soon as possible.

"We are pleased to inform our supporters that the match will be broadcast at the Sports Bar within Celtic Park tomorrow for any supporters who wish to attend."

The eternal rivals will go head-to-head on Sunday afternoon with only home fans present to witness the spectacle, sadly something the women's Old Firm now has in common with the men's version, which has not had away support in attendance since a series of ticketing disputes that began at the end of the 2022-23 season.