Keith Hackett shares what Rangers must do next after failed Scottish FA appeal

Rangers have lost their appeal against the Scottish FA’s sanction for the disorder that followed March’s Scottish Cup tie with Celtic at Ibrox. The appeal was only partially upheld. The next home Scottish Cup match must still be played behind closed doors, and the £100,000 payment to the opposition stays in place, unless that opponent turns out to be Celtic. The suspended second stadium closure and the suspended extra compensation were both removed, so the club has at least avoided the harshest part of the punishment.

Former referees’ chief Keith Hackett has been consistent on this for months, and his earlier comments point to what Rangers should do now. He argued that the governing body had little room to act differently, given how serious the scenes were and the pressure that police and other agencies would have put on the SFA. On that reading, the appeal was always unlikely to change the basic outcome, and continuing the fight would only deepen the club’s strained relationship with Hampden.

The first priority is to accept the verdict and plan for the closed-door game properly. That means managing the financial hit, and keeping supporters on side in a season when they will miss out on a big home cup night.

The second is to take supporter behaviour seriously. Hackett has previously said the problem is bigger than any single incident, and he has questioned whether earlier kick-offs are enough to deal with alcohol-fuelled trouble. Rangers should work with Police Scotland and Celtic on stronger stewarding and tighter control of drinking around Old Firm games. They should also make sure the club’s own fan displays do not hand the authorities another reason to act.

Finally, Hackett has said he hopes both clubs can get back to football. With a League Cup semi-final on Saturday, that looks like the sensible approach.