BT Sport could broadcast Rangers’ home Europa League clash against Sparta Prague in November from an EMPTY Parkhead.
Record Sport Online can exclusively reveal that is just one of the moves being considered by the broadcasting giants in response to the Ibrox club’s safety fears for their chosen Celtic pundits.
Hoops heroes Chris Sutton and Neil Lennon were denied entry to the home of their former rivals due to security reasons in midweek.
BT Sport wanted the duo to cover Celtic’s early match away to Real Betis from a studio at the Govan ground before being replaced by Ally McCoist and David Weir for Gers home game against Lyon.
This is a regular occurrence from the broadcaster who reverse the roles when Gers are away in the early kick off as they make Parkhead their base.
That will be the case the next time the Glasgow giants play on the same night in the Europa League on November 4.
McCoist and former Light Blues team-mate and ex-Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes will cover Steven Gerrard’s team in action away to Brondby at 5.45pm.
And Sutton and Lennon will then step in for Celtic’s 8pm kick off at home to Hungarian side Ferencvaros.
The next time the Hoops are in action in the early game is on Matchday Five and it will see a potential repeat of the issues that occurred in midweek.
Celtic are away to Bayer Leverkusen with the Light Blues hosting Sparta Prague in the penultimate group fixtures.
BT Sport - who paid £1.2 BILLION for the rights to the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League until 2024 - are considering how to deal with the situation as they look to avoid another row.
They were forced to rip up their plans at the eleventh hour and cover the game from a London studio with Stiliyan Petrov stepping in.
And one option is simply to cover both games from Parkhead despite Celtic being away from home and Rangers in action at Ibrox.
A well-placed BT Sport source told Record Sport Online : “If this scenario comes up again then the safety of our staff is paramount.
“However, the cost to us doubles if we have to set up two studios so it’s more economical to have just one base.
“Therefore, one option being considered is simply to set the studio up at Parkhead. It seems ludicrous considering we won’t have the fans arriving for the game as they will be at Ibrox.
“Something would be lost and Ibrox Stadium will miss out on the exposure of a full house on a European night which makes great viewing as it showcases a magnificent arena to the world.
“But we could be left with no option. At a time when (Rangers managing director) Stewart Robertson has said they are looking for more money to be invested in the Scottish game it doesn’t make much sense to be upsetting a major UEFA stakeholder.”
.png?w=600)
