What it's like to play in a locked-out Celtic vs Rangers derby

Barry Smith took part in the original derby game with no away fans.

April 30 1994, to be precise. Celtic supporters were banned from Ibrox.

Then Rangers chairman, David Murray, played to the gallery with the decision after a spat between the Celtic board and the Ibrox hierarchy owing to a row over broken seats spilt over.

Murray thought Celtic should pay for the damages. The Hoops thought otherwise. In response, the Parkhead board failed to turn up at the game but one clever Hoops fan flew a plane over the ground with the banner Hail Hail! The Celts are here.

John Collins opened the scoring with an exquisite free-kick goal which he bent around the Rangers wall - with his new Adidas Predator boots - but Alexei Mikhailichenko ensured a share of the spoils with a deflected equaliser 11 minutes from time and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

What is it like to play in a derby with no away fans present? Smith concedes it was a horrible, surreal experience for him and his Celtic team-mates despite the morale-boosting result.

READ MORE: The day Celtic set a new benchmark in Scottish football

"You know what Ibrox is like," he told The Celtic Way. "It was just one of the surreal experiences. It was just weird. Not having Celtic fans there at all just didn't feel right. I know a couple of supporters managed to sneak in but they were probably put back out once we had scored. It was just weird.

"Don't get me wrong, the atmosphere was horrible for a Celtic player because we never had any support and Ibrox is intimidating at the best of times but when you play away in an Old Firm game you want your own backing and knowing the Celtic supporters are behind you gives you strength and confidence.

"That particular occasion was not a nice ordeal but the good thing for Celtic was that we came away with a point at that time which was a decent result for us back then."

It is why Smith admits he'd be loathed to see no away fans at the Glasgow Derbies as the norm moving forward.

Last month it was confirmed that both sets of away supporters will not be in attendance for the final two league clashes of the season and that there would be no ticket allocation distributed to visiting spectators.

The third instalment of the campaign takes place at Parkhead on Saturday with a date for the remaining fixture at Ibrox still to be decided after the split.

Celtic are currently nine points ahead of Rangers in the title race but, regardless of circumstance, Smith doesn't want to envisage the day when away supporters will be banned from the derby forever.

The 49-year-old added: "I think you need to have away fans at any game but especially in derby matches just for the atmosphere they create alone as well as the spectacle.

"You have to allow away supporters to watch that match. It's one of the biggest games in the world. Moving forward, I think there's got to be an agreement somewhere that they can allow away fans into the respective grounds to be able to watch that game.

A plane bearing a message for the Celtic players flies over Ibrox in April 1994 (Image: SNS)

"It's an important game, it's a massive game and it's shown around the whole world and I think it's a bit disappointing that we have reached the point where there are no away fans.

"I think originally when the Celtic fans were banned from the game at Ibrox that I played in was because there had been a problem with some seats being damaged - whether that was true or not is a different story altogether.

"But Celtic and Rangers matches are far too big a game for there not to be away fans allowed in. Both sets of supporters must be allowed to see these occasions in real-time and in that unique atmosphere.

"It is something that some people as supporters may never experience but they need to be given every opportunity to do so.

"From my own experience of playing in that game at Ibrox back in 1994, I am certainly not an advocate of locking out Celtic or Rangers supporters for the derby matches."

THE FULL, EXCLUSIVE BIG INTERVIEW WITH BARRY SMITH GOES LIVE ON THE CELTIC WAY ON SUNDAY

This piece is an extract from the latest Celtic Digest newsletter, which is emailed out every weekday evening with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from The Celtic Way team.

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