Sutton was also banned from Ibrox in September
BT Sport have released a statement after Celtic icon Chris Sutton was once again denied access to Rangers’ stadium.
The pundit is thought to have been banned from Ibrox and was refused access to work for BT Sport at the ground tonight.
With both Celtic and Rangers in Europa League action tonight (25 November), the broadcaster switched studio to present from an empty Celtic Park.
This allowed them to cover both Celtic’s away trip to Bayer Leverkusen and Rangers’ home clash with Sparta Prague.
At the beginning of the broadcast, Darrell Currie addressed the studio at Parkhead by reading a BT Sport statement regarding the studio swap.
BT Sport have released a statement on tonight's broadcast from Celtic Park after their presentation team "were not all provided with the necessary accreditation at Ibrox". pic.twitter.com/BvjAfMruKH
— John McGinley (@jhnmcgnly) November 25, 2021
The BT Sport statement read: “We have a presentation team who reflect all angles and experiences in Scottish football but who were not all provided with the necessary accreditation at Ibrox today.
“We will not be forced to split a team of professionals behind and in-front of screen.
“The only way to provide viewers with the continuity of coverage across tongith’s two matches featuring Celtic and Rangers was to set up a studio elsewhere.”
Following this, Currie introduced Stiliyan Petrov and “the elephant in the room” Sutton as coverage began ahead of the Celtic game.
Sutton took to social media yesterday to hit out at Rangers over his access – or lack thereof.
Referring to the club’s inclusivity initiative, the former Celtic striker tweeted: “Everyone anyone…”
Everyone anyone…
— Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73) November 24, 2021
A previous Rangers statement on the matter read: “We have complied with all UEFA contractual obligations to facilitate BT as host broadcaster.”
In September, Sutton and Neil Lennon were banned from attending Ibrox for Rangers’ Europa League game against Lyon.
The pair were meant to be part of BT Sport’s coverage of Celtic and Rangers’ Thursday night Europa League fixtures, with the broadcasters covering the Hoops’ clash against Real Betis before focusing on the Gers’ home tie against Lyon.
With Celtic playing away, the plan was to cover both games from Ibrox. However, senior officials at Rangers decided against accommodating the broadcaster’s request as they were worried about having Sutton and Lennon working so close to the home fans.
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