GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 02: Celtic Chief Executive Officer Michael Nicholson during a UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD2 match between Celtic and SC Braga at Celtic Park, on October 02, 2025, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ross MacDonald/SNS Group via Getty Images)
The nightmare that Michael Nicholson is living through continued late on Sunday night with the quarter-final draw for the Scottish Cup.
A trip to Ibrox was absolutely the last thing that the Celtic CEO wanted for a number of reasons.
Football wise every club wants a home draw, preferably against a lower division side. Celtic got neither.
For a place in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup Celtic will need to win away from home against the club currently second in the SPFL Premiership.
That is only the start of the problems facing Nicholson.
The CEO that has sat back and watched a catalogue of Ibrox incidents without even a whimper of complaint.
NICHOLSON- THE INVISIBLE CEO
Broken glass mysteriously appeared on the pitch in April 2022, fortunately Joe Hart noticed it before there was serious injury.
At the same match a Celtic physio was struck by a glass thrown by an Ibrox hospitality guest.
Nicholson, the driving force behind the Sydney Super Cup, said and did nothing.
More recently Matt O’Riley and Viljami Sinisalo have had full glass bottles thrown at them from the same part of the stadium.
Nicholson said nothing.
In January 2025 Arne Engels was struck by a missile as he waited to take a corner.
Guess what? Nicholson said nothing.
Now Celtic fans are expecting their CEO to get a20% cut of tickets from a Scottish Cup tie at Ibrox!
????? pic.twitter.com/Z5ryJajS6n
— Craig Whyte (@RIPRFC) February 8, 2026
Ibrox currently has a capacity of 50,817.
According to Scottish Cup rules Celtic are entitled to 20% of the tickets for the Scottish Cup tie. That will be 10,163 tickets Michael, not one less.
CELTIC EXPECTED TO CAPITULATE
Ticket pricing is agreed between the clubs. Will Celtic insist on £25 tickets as they charged at the weekend or rub their hands for £50 or more with their favourite business partners?
Celtic will be hit with all sorts of segregation issues about why they can only get the 7,500 seats in the Broomloan Road Stand.
For the first time in his career Nicholson will be required to stand up for Celtic.
It wouldn’t be a shock if he suffers severe bowel issues over the next fortnight as the ticket allocation is sorted.
If the home club can’t provide Celtic with 10,163 tickets their Safety Certificate should be withdrawn.
Celtic cannot accept less than the 20% ticket allocation that they are entitled to by SFA rules.
If they are told that they can only get the Broomloan Road Stand they have two options.
Firstly they accept that and insist that the home fans are restricted to 30,000 tickets which would tie in with the 20% rule.
That would leave 13,317 seats empty- roughly all of the Govan/Sandy Jardine Stand.
If that isn’t agreed then Celtic don’t go to Ibrox in the Scottish Cup.
It has to be 20% of the match tickets or the match doesn’t get played.
Does Nicholson have the minerals for that?
Unlikely from the man that has only twice found the courage to be interviewed by Gerry McCulloch for Celtic TV.
Will Michael Nicholson secure 20% of tickets for Celtic fans at Ibrox?
YES- Don't doubt our mighty leader
NO- Expect capitulation from the mouse
Will the glesca polis go along with 20%
Why not?? Hampden gets 50/50
Why not boycott this game too?
No bigger statement on intentions could be made.
This would be the perfect game for a boycott, f**k the Scottish cup concentrate on the league, the Huns will probably win this tie anyway, home game and all the cheating officials on their side, the Celtic players will get kicked off the park and nothing will be done, Celtic will get a man sent off and tavpen will make an appearance.
I think we should just let this one go ,the odds are stacked heavily in sevcos favour and we can rest up some of our players.
I’d be astonished if they pushed for the full 20% – it would mean the next time we draw them at home in the cup there could be 12,000 of them at Celtic Park….
Captain , do you honestly think we would ever be afforded that luxury a draw at home to them ? the draw was a loaded dice , do you think they wanted to meet us in the semi or final with the same allocation of fans ? i rest my case
We have drawn them at home in the cups. Not regularly I grant you but it has occurred. Remember Maloney’s 30 yard thunderbolt against Klos? That was a league cup quarter final, at home to the original Rainjurz. Theoretically it should be even more unusual to draw them in the earlier rounds of the league cup than the Scottish cup as that is often seeded,
How often does that happen
He’ll shit himself…
Most of the time his expression looks like he just has “shit himself”!
Our waste of space CEO will not ask for full allocation.
He’ll do as Sevco say.
Useless cant.
Him and the other rats will do nothing but hide
It’ll be MON repeatedly getting asked in pre and post match pressers what the situation is
Joe for once this Nicholson rat must stand up for Celtic fans and insist on 20% ticket allocation or else tell the SFA and them disgusting lowlife Sevco to go f@#k themselfs time to grow a pair of balls weasel Nicholson
Get what we are entitled to. No less
Not a Fu**in snowballs chance in hell of him sticking up for Celtic and our supporters…
He’ll accept 7,500…
Better for him the more Sevco Orange Bastards in the place to amplify their songs of hate…
He allows it at Parkhead so why not Liebrox !
NICHOLSON’S A EUNUCH , THAT SKITTERY CNT HAS TO SIT DOWN TO PISS .