Falkirk have said that a decision will be made on arrangements for the final game of the season when Rangers return for the season finale.
16 May could be a title decider with everything on the line for the visitors, but following a backlash from their supporters, the club is revisiting its plans for the day.
Earlier today, we detailed how calls have been made to lock out Rangers fans from the Falkirk Stadium for the last game of the campaign, and now club chiefs have insisted a decision will be made.
What has Falkirk said about fan complaints?
On Monday evening, the club released a statement, acknowledging the issue and advising its fans of what will happen next.
“Following yesterday’s match, many Falkirk fans have contacted us about away fans obtaining tickets for the home end and the behaviour of these fans, which included a steward requiring medical attention.”
Falkirk condemned all of the alleged incidents and apologised to its supprters for their experience.
They also detailed that, “Falkirk FC will work with Police Scotland, stewarding partners, our colleagues at other clubs, the SPFL and SFA, and endeavour to improve the experience for our fans.
Crucially, for the return fixture in a few weeks, the statement went to to say:
“The club already had a robust plan in place for the final game of the season, with enhanced measures in place given the potential significance of the fixture.
“We are now considering further the implications of yesterday’s incidents for future matches against Rangers, including security and ticketing arrangements, and will inform our fans once a decision has been taken.”
Falkirk CEO Jamie Swinney also vowed that “we will consider a variety of measures to control what we can control for future games.”
Rangers fans at Falkirk
The problem is a multi-faceted one, with supply and demand being an issue.
Dedicated supporters will do all they can to be at a game, and sometimes that includes obtaining home-end tickets.
There were plenty of Rangers fans in Falkirk sections on Sunday and the vast majority would have kept their heads down, where appropriate.
From the Sky TV coverage, you could see a group of away fans next to the segregation, so of course they are going to cheer the goals.
Surely, common sense has to apply.
Reports of stewards being assaulted are unwelcome and uncalled for, but Falkirk will fully investigate that.
Read Rangers analysis
As stated earlier, SPFL rules do not set out that a fixed percentage of tickets must be given to away supporters.
Instead, clubs are required to provide a “reasonable allocation,” which is agreed between both sides.
This is usually between 5-10% of a ground’s capacity, but can change.
Falkirk could opt for the nuclear approach and ban Rangers fans from the final day fixture.
However, Rangers, the police and the league would likely oppose such a policy.
If it transpires that Rangers are going to Falkirk needing a result to secure the title, good luck to them if they think that such an approach will work.
Previous games down the years have shown that where there’s a will, there’s a way for fans to gain tickets where they are not supposed to.
Once more, hopefully common sense prevails.
