Rangers fans will be able to watch the Europa League final on a big screen in Seville but the club have confirmed there will be no mass screening at Ibrox.
Tens of thousands of Gers fans without tickets are expected to travel to the Spanish city ahead of Wednesday’s showpiece event against Eintracht Frankfurt at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, the home of Sevilla.
There were fears there would be problems finding enough televisions to view the game but one solution has been found, with a fan zone set up inside the stadium where Celtic lost to Porto in the 2003 UEFA Cup final.
A Rangers statement read: “After dialogue with UEFA, Spanish police and the local authorities, we can confirm the organisation of a fan viewing area in the Estadio La Cartuja, for those supporters without tickets. Further details will be released by the stadium manager in the coming days.
“There will also be a fan meeting point in Alameda de Hercules for those supporters with a ticket for the final. There will be no public viewing of the game in the fan zone area. More information will be provided in the coming days.
“We would like to thank UEFA, Spanish police and the local authorities for their co-operation so far.”
Some fans who are staying behind in Scotland had hoped to gather at Ibrox to watch the game together on big screens but the club have ruled that out.
“Whilst we understand the wish for supporters to be able to gather at our home for this momentous occasion, the club does not have sufficient staffing resources to be able to host such a large event due to the number of qualified staff and personnel required to travel to Spain to assist in the safe delivery of the final,” Rangers said.
“We could not safely operate an event of this size without the presence of our safety team, all of whom are required in Spain.
“Given the significant UEFA regulatory demands, we are required to deploy our full safety team in Seville, given the anticipated travelling support. This was not an easy decision but it is vital we ensure the safety of the team, management and travelling support in Spain.
“We acknowledge and understand the disappointment and frustration of non-travelling supporters, but there was no safe way of delivering a matchday screening.”
There was a major consolation for many fans, though, with the news that the game will be screened for free by rights holders BT Sport, along with the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid.
Jamie Hindhaugh, head of BT Sport, said: “It has been another hugely entertaining season of football across all three UEFA club competitions, highlighted by British clubs making two of the finals once again.
“We’re delighted to round these European campaigns off by making the live action from all three finals available for anyone to watch for free on the BT Sport website, app or YouTube channel.”
