Dundee United fans have sent a clear message to the SFA by buying tickets in record numbers for their Scottish Cup semi-final with Sevco at Ibrox on April 12.
Not content with giving Ally McCoist’s gladiators home advantage United were told that they would only be given 8,000 tickets meaning that they would be running the gauntlet in front of over 40,000 home supporters.
United were furious with that arrangement demanding that they be given the opportunity to sell double their allocation with the SFA bowing to pressure to increase the allocation to the SPFL Premiership side.
Tickets went on sale at Tannadice on Monday with 6,500 sold by the time the ticket office closed at 5pm- more than double the number that the club has ever sold on a single day.
United’s initial allocation is now certain to be sold out leaving red faced SFA officials to hand over sections of the Govan Stand to the massive travelling support from Tayside.
It’s not clear how many more tickets the SFA will hand give United but their attitude to the match seems to have galvanised supporters to rally behind Jackie McNamara’s team in record numbers.
The decision to award Ibrox two semi-finals was never a popular move with the wish to hand over the 80% of the tickets to the home support difficult to justify.
Last season Sevco refused to accept tickets for their Scottish Cup tie at Tannadice yet still picked up half of the gate receipts with no subsequent apology offered from the League One champions.
United chairman Stephen Thompson will snub the directors box at Ibrox to sit among his own supporters.
In February 2012, just nine days before Craig Whyte put Rangers into administration just 17,822 went to Ibrox to see Dundee United put McCoist’s side out of the Scottish Cup.
SFA President Campbell Ogilvie received a £95,000 EBT from Rangers (IL) before leaving to join the board of directors at Hearts led by Vladimir Romanov.
