It’s fair to say that Rangers fans and the SPFL don’t get on at the best of times but the latest news coming out of Hampden has irked the Gers support.
Rangers know the Scottish Premiership post-split fixtures after they were announced by the SPFL this week with all eyes immediately on the final Old Firm derby of the season.
Rangers will host Celtic on May 4th in a match which is sure to derive some level of controversy one way or another.
With Celtic one point away from being crowned Scottish Premiership champions the SPFL appear to have done everything they can to maximise the drama at Ibrox.
But their fixture scheduling has not gone down well with Rangers fans, who feel the club’s exploits in the Europa League have been completely ignored by the powers that be.
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Celtic could win title at Ibrox if Rangers win v St Mirren and they lose v Dundee United
Celtic will be crowned champions on the weekend of the 26th and 27th of April if they earn at least a point against Dundee United.
Our Old Firm rivals will also pick up the crown if Rangers fail to beat St Mirren in Paisley on 26th April, something that’s a distinct possibility given the Saints have defeated the Gers twice this season.
This presents two scenarios which will heighten the conversation around the Old Firm derby clash at Ibrox on May 4th.
If Celtic are not crowned champions the week previously, they could win the title at Ibrox by earning only a point against Rangers.
It might offer the Parkhead side a semblance of revenge after Rangers famously won the league title at Celtic Park back in 1999.
If Celtic are crowned champions, the entire pre-match preamble will be dominated by talk of a Guard of Honour which will not come from the Rangers team.
But the timing of the match has raised eyebrows amongst Rangers fans because it is sandwiched between the dates of this season’s Europa League semi-finals.
Rangers could face Celtic either side of Europa League semi-final
Rangers face a season-defining trip to Spain to face Athletic Club in the Europa League quarter-final second leg with the tie neatly poised at 0-0.
A spirited Rangers held Athletic Club at Ibrox despite being reduced to ten men only 13 minutes into the first leg in Glasgow.
Alex McLeish has warned Rangers to expect a wounded Athletic Club but the Gers are still in with a shout of reaching the last four in Spain.
If they do, they will face a potentially decisive Old Firm derby clash at Ibrox sandwiched between each leg of a bumper Europa League semi-final against either Manchester United or Lyon.
The dates for this season’s Europa League semi-final ties are the 1st May and 8th May 2025.
This has riled Rangers fans, who’ve taken to social media platform X to slam the SPFL’s decision-making, who would’ve been in full knowledge of the situation.
One fan has suggested that ‘maybe’ the SPFL ‘don’t expect’ Rangers to overcome Athletic Club in Spain.
Another has slammed Scottish football’s governance by suggesting they are ‘trying to hinder any hope of Rangers reaching another European final’.
This fan pretty much sums up the feeling amongst Rangers fans, who’d want Barry Ferguson to prioritise the Europa League in the event the Gers reach the semis.
