IT is a match three years in the making and one that will be seen by millions around the world as fans in countries as far apart as the US, the Philippines and Turkmenistan all turn their eyes to Scotland.

 

Celtic and Rangers will meet at Hampden today for the first time since 2012, in a league Cup semi final that sees the Old Firm derby return for the first time since one half of one of football's fiercest rivalries collapsed into economic turmoil and life in the lower divisions.

The gulf between the two teams may remain, with the two football giants no longer vying for the same league title, but passions will run just as high on either side as years of anticipation finally come to an end.

Ladbrokes predict more than £10million will be riding on the game in almost three years, breaking Scots football's betting record, as interest ahead of the clash reaches fever pitch.

Across Glasgow, preparations have been made for one of the biggest police operations likely to be staged this year with 50,000 fans expected to head for the city's south side while many more pack into pubs and bars in the centre.

Police Scotland Chief Superintendent Andy Bates, the Event Commander, was the man in charge of the last Old Firm match and will be the one marshalling the forces of law and order today.

Despite the massive amount of work preparing for the game has seen, which extends to action plans being devised for all 14 of Scotland's police divisions, he said that he's been eager for the match to return.

He said: "From a personal point of view, I do enjoy these kind of occasions. I enjoy the planning, and I enjoy the delivery of the operation.

"It's an occasion like a Scotland England match. When it comes your way it's a challenge, but its a challenge we've seen before.

"I would imagine that I'm speaking for a lot of my colleagues who would say exactly that. One of the things we joined the police for is to keep people safe and put a plan in place that delivers a safe environment for people."

He added: "The vast majority of fans are there as football fans. There's just a small minority that might want to cause a bit of disorder.

"There's always the anticipation that there will be trouble. We're not naive, and we see there's the potential for trouble there. We've had a couple of matches with the Rangers and Celtic under-17 teams over the years and which did not go particularly well with regards to fan behaviour.

"We know the potential is there. There's a lot of people that are going to be working at the game over the weekend that worked at the last one three years ago.

"I was the match commander the last time these teams met at Hampden in 2011 - people know exactly what to expect and we will be policing it accordingly."

Fears that the match has the potential to be cause violent disorder have led to enhanced security measures at city bars.

Pub staff have been warned to clear tables "as quickly as possible" in a bid to keep glasses and bottles out of punters' hands if tempers flare.

Police chiefs are also clamping down on overcrowding at city centre bars, and are determined to prevent rivalries erupting on the streets outside.

Chief Inspector Mark Sutherland, who is in charge of policing Glasgow city centre, said: "One of our main focuses will be to ensure that our pubs and clubs across the city are well managed throughout the weekend.

"It is crucial that staff understand their role in preventing disorder by not selling alcohol to people who have had too much to drink, prevent overcrowding and keep tables clear of glasses and bottles."

The semi-final is being covered in the UK by the BBC, both on TV and radio, and is expected to reach 129 million homes around the world. Kick off is at 1.30pm.

It will be shown live on free-to-air television in Norway, Sweden and Moldova. Across Europe, live broadcasts will also be available in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Israel, Turkey and the Balkan states.

While many of the nations provide SPFL football highlights on a regular basis, it will be a first screening for the Scottish game this season in Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.

Many of the 129m homes are in the US, with Fox USA broadcasting it live. Rogers Sportsnet will provide the same service in Canada

Setanta Sports is beaming live coverage in Australia and beIN Sports broadcasting in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. beIN Sports will also make the game widely available across the Middle East and Africa.

Neil Doncaster, SPFL chief executive, said: "The interest in the Glasgow derby in particular has been extraordinary and this is reflected in the huge number of territories which will enjoy live coverage of the game, thanks to the SPFL's partnership with international broadcast rights partner, MP and Silva.

"Many of these countries and regions show highlights of Scottish football throughout the season and this is another chance for us to continue to sell the game and increase interest throughout the world."

Closer to home, the two sets of fans have different views of the game, indicating that the sting may have been taken out of their once all-consuming rivalry.

While Rangers have suffered financial collapse, and a stuttering attempt to return to the top flight, Celtic are flying high as the Premier League leaders and have remain regulars in the top European competitions.

Rangers fan Chris Graham admitted that he was approaching the game with trepidation, and that most Rangers fans felt the same:

He said: "Rangers are clear underdogs. They don't have their troubles to seek off the park and on the park things haven't been going well either.

"Moral among the team and the supporters is low, but the thing about Old Firm games is that you can't really predict how they will go."

But he said that he had missed the clash with Celtic, along with the other big games that used to regularly appear on Rangers' fixture list.

He said: "There's been a lack of anticipation for the game, maybe because there's not as much at stake as there was in years gone by.

"But at the same time, fans miss the big games like this and the European nights, and want to get to the stage where we're seeing them regularly again."

Celtic fans have also admitted to feeling nerves in the build up to the match, but for different reasons.

One supporter posting on social media said: "This will be regarded as a season-defining match for us, and we are in a no-win situation other than we need to win to get to the final.

"When we beat them, and even if we beat them by 5, the media will say, 'Well, so you should...'. However, if the unthinkable were to happen, and we were to lose, then whatever else we accomplish this season will be secondary to losing to Rangers.

"If they beat us, they'll be rejuvenated, like vampires with a shot of fresh blood. The media will use it against us at every opportunity. Even if we were to continue to progress in the Europa League, even if we made it to the final, they'll refer to the loss every chance they get."

Other Celtic fans though downplayed today's match, with another fan saying: "Personally I've little interest in this game in comparison to any other cup game we might play, and have not even kept up to date with anything in regards to the new club other than they lost to Hearts and are in serious financial difficulties, and something about Mike Ashley or something like that.

"That's just me though. I've continued to support Celtic regardless."