Rangers legend Barry Ferguson has called on his former side and Celtic to end their squabble regarding Old Firm allocations.

Last week Celtic were dealt a blow ahead of the opening Glasgow derby of the season with the news that away supporters would be locked out of Ibrox.

Ange Postecoglou’s side had received 700 tickets for the Glasgow showdown, but their city neighbours have now pulled the plug on a visiting allocation. 

Herald and Times Sport understands this is due to Celtic being unable to guarantee Rangers the same allocation for the return league fixture at Celtic Park. 

Gers hero Ferguson used to love playing in front of both sets of fans during Old Firm clashes and he insists the atmosphere has suffered in recent years.

He told Go Radio: “The fans are going to be in, but I’m just disappointed it’s not back to the way it was four or five years ago.

"You walk out at Ibrox. If you’re a player, you look to your left and there’s 8,000 Celtic fans and the other three stands are full of Rangers fans.

“Get it back to being like that. And the same at Celtic Park, 8,000 Rangers fans travelling and supporting their team.

“It just disappoints me, if you asked all the ex-players they’d want the opposition fans there.

“It’s great when it’s just your own fans but me growing up and playing in it, it was special.

“Going over to take a corner kick, you were going over to the Broomloan and you knew you were going to get absolute pelters.

“But that’s what it was all about! That fired you up.”

Celtic have not allowed visiting supporters into their stadium this season and they were unable to fully commit to Rangers due to current red zone protocols in the Main Stand. 

The news comes after Celtic and Rangers were granted permission by Glasgow City Council to host capacity crowds both for league fixtures and European football.