Rangers fans could be facing a late dash to Italy with club chiefs in talks to get Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Napoli switched from Glasgow.
Scottish football was suspended for the weekend in the wake of the Queen’s death on Thursday but UEFA insist all midweek European ties go ahead as scheduled. Rangers are due to face Napoli at Ibrox on Tuesday – but Police Scotland fear resources will be stretched due to the Queen lying in state in Edinburgh and up to 200,000 mourners expected.
Gers have been told re-arranging the encounter is off the table due to the congested UEFA fixture calendar ahead of the World Cup in November. But the tie could be switched to allow Rangers to go to Italy this week, with the return in Scotland moved back to late October. The Light Blues are in talks with Euro beaks, government, Napoli bosses and Police Scotland in a bid to find a solution, with Italian fans already booked to come here and Gers punters facing a scramble to travel if the game is flipped.
A Rangers statement said: “At this difficult time for the UK, we are cognisant of ongoing uncertainty regarding supporter arrangements and travel plans for next week.
“We are aware of policing and resource pressures, especially on Tuesday, September 13. We can confirm that discussions are taking place between UEFA, Police Scotland and Rangers regarding our scheduled UEFA Champions League fixture versus Napoli.
“At present, the game is scheduled to take place at the scheduled date and time.”
In a similar position, Liverpool are to host Ajax in the Champions League on Tuesday night, Chelsea are at home against RB Salzburg and Man City take on Dortmund. Arsenal take on PSV Eindhoven in the Europa League, but Celtic are expected to travel to Poland to face Shakhtar Donetsk as planned, along with Hearts’ Europa Conference trip to take on Riga.
READ NEXT:
