Brendan Rodgers hopes that the away allocations for the Old Firm fixture will one day be restored to their former levels as the Celtic manager welcomed the news that around 2500 travelling fans will be admitted to Ibrox when his side face Rangers next season.

The SPFL confirmed earlier today that both clubs would hand around five percent of the capacity of their respective stadiums to visiting supporters after a prolonged period of negotiation, and Rodgers says that Celtic – having always opposed the cuts made to the traditional allocations – hope this is the first step towards restoring them.

“It’s absolutely great news for everyone,” Rodgers said.

“It’s certainly something this club have championed for a number of years. It’s an iconic fixture because of the supporters.

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“So, to be able to get 2500 supporters into the stadium - and hopefully over time that can grow - is everything. Because the game is about the players on the field and the supporters. Especially in this fixture - this is really what makes it.

“It’s absolutely fantastic news. The aim at Celtic was never to change it, so if we can get back to where it was before it was changed that would be absolutely great news for everyone.”

Meanwhile, Rodgers addressed the two-game touchline ban - with one of those matches suspended - that he received this week after being charged by the Scottish FA for comments he made about the officiating in Celtic’s defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle.

That means Rodgers will be seated in the stand for the visit to Livingston on Sunday, but will be able to take his place in the dugout for the match against Rangers at Ibrox next weekend.

“I was disappointed to get banned for the first time in my career,” he said.

“But I respect the decision and we’ll find a way around it. We’ve been preparing all week for the game. I’ll have my seat in the stand, and we’ll be communicating from there.

“I’ve always been a coach who likes to be on the touchline where I can make quick changes but I’ve also got big trust in my staff here as well. The players will go into the game knowing exactly what they have to do, and we’ll have that communication with the bench.

“It is what it is. I’m disappointed with the one game and the one game suspended but at the SFA it was all done very professionally and I’d give a huge thanks to the club because they gave me unwavering support in defence of the breach. We accept it and move on.”

Rodgers says that his comments on the officials were misconstrued, and he argues that he was only speaking out with a view to improving the standard of refereeing.

He said: “It’s something that there was misunderstanding and misinterpretation of my comments after the Hearts game, because that’s all I’ve ever looked to do, in both my times up here, [is] to increase the standard, whether that was VAR or the quality of pitches or making games better.

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“That’s always something that has to be driven, I feel. Clearly VAR is one of those things we want to see improved. It’s only been here a short period of time, so we want to look to develop and improve it. But I’d say that was the same about the standard of the pitches.

“It’s always something that we hopefully try to create in the league and in football up here. It’s always in the forefront of my mind.”