Safety first as Celtic agree Old Firm date

CELTIC and the Bank of Scotland Premier League have agreed on the need for calm despite their squabble over the date of the final Old Firm game of the season.

Parkhead chief executive Ian McLeod originally expressed fears the April 27 date would spark crowd trouble as he complained the game was less than three days after the UEFA Cup semi-final second leg at Boavista.

The club had hoped to urge the SPL board into a new vote over the date at a board meeting at Hampden Park today. But, after a meeting with Strathclyde Police, Celtic have withdrawn their request for an appeal against the date of the game on safety grounds.