Rangers have moved to ban Celtic fans from attending this weekend's women's team derby match.

The game will be played at Ibrox with a 3.10pm kick-off on Sunday.

It's understood Rangers have decided to cancel all away tickets due to security concerns over high-risk fans infiltrating the stadium. So, the game will see only Rangers fans present.

The Ibrox club could have drafted in a hefty police presence to deal with the large numbers expected of a Celtic persuasion. 

However, while the costs this would incur are not an issue, Rangers are believed to want a different atmosphere at its women's games. 

It's believed they don't want segregation in place, they won't those who turn up to enjoy the game itself, they want families to enjoy the day out together and ultimately don't want to risk any potential trouble from the stands.

Jo Potter's side are top of the SWPL table on 56 points. They currently hold a four-point advantage over city-rivals Celtic. Glasgow City sits on 50 points a little further behind in third. 

Elena Sadiku's first game in charge of Celtic women's team took place last month against Rangers, with the Light Blues earning a late win in the Sky Sports Cup.

A Rangers statement reads: "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.

"Rangers have informed Celtic, the SWPL and Police Scotland of our decision."

Celtic hit back, branding the decision 'hugely disappointing'. 

A statement reads: "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."