ORGANISERS of the International Champions Cup last night revealed they have ambitions to stage an Old Firm game outside of Scotland for the first time – and believe Wembley would be an ideal venue.
Celtic are set to take part in the prestigious pre-season tournament along with many of the biggest clubs from across Europe for the first time this summer; they will play Leicester City, Barcelona and Inter Milan.
But Charlie Stillitano, co-founder and chairman of competition promoters Relevant Sports, has admitted he would also like to invite Rangers, who have won promotion to the Ladbrokes Premiership this season, to compete in the future.
Stillitano confirmed he had held talks with Peter Lawwell, the Celtic chief executive, and Martin Bain, his former Rangers counterpart, about the possibility of the two Glasgow clubs playing each other abroad in the past.
The American believes it would be possible for the Ibrox club to take on their Parkhead rivals in another country despite the obvious policing and safety issues which would arise.
Liverpool and Manchester United played each other in the final of the International Champions Cup in Florida two years ago in front of a crowd of 51,014 without any incidents. United are also set to take on Manchester City in Beijing this year.
"The fact Rangers are back in their top league and playing Celtic again on a regular basis gives the Scottish game one of the biggest fixtures in the world again,” said Stillitano. “Would we like them both to be involved in the ICC? Of course, we would.
“We would love to stage a Celtic v Rangers game. If we can put on a Manchester derby in Beijing, we can put on a Glasgow derby. We have had conversations with Peter Lawwell at Celtic and Martin Bain when he was at Rangers in the past about the topic.
“The fans would love it in the US or Australia - places where there are lots of fans with Scottish heritage. They would absolutely love it.
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“In America, the Rangers and Celtic rivalry is more friendly than it is back in Scotland. Could a Rangers v Celtic match sell out a huge US stadium like the Met Life with 80,000 fans? I don’t know, but I’d sure love to find out.
“I don’t think the safety issues would be insurmountable. It would have its challenges. But we had United v Liverpool as the final of this tournament in the past. They didn’t want to play each other, but they ended up meeting in the final in Miami.
“I ran the 1994 World Cup at Giants Stadium and we were shown all the various security issues, but America is a different world. We’ve not developed a super player yet, but we know how to put on a show."
He added: “I love both clubs. I brought Rangers over to America under Dick Advocaat then Alex McLeish. I deal with Peter Lawwell regularly and we’ve brought them over many times. So for me, it would be a wonderful thing to do.
“We had in the past considered trying to organise one over two legs. Rangers v Celtic in Toronto, where there are a lot of Rangers fans. Then another game in Boston, where there are a lot of Celtic fans. A home and away scenario.”
However, Stillitano believes the Old Firm game would attract a sell-out crowd if it was played at the 90-000-capacity Wembley Stadium in London.
Read more: Celtic skipper Brown needs to miss Scotland friendlies in order to reclaim top form
“An Old Firm game at London would be amazing,” he said. “I’m not sure what the authorities would think, but Wembley is used to hosting big games all the time. I think Wembley would be perfect for it. Celtic v Rangers would fill out Wembley, 100 per cent. That would be wonderful.
“It would be fantastic and having it at Wembley would be spectacular. I think it would be a personal goal of mine to do that.”
Meanwhile, Stillitano revealed that media speculation last month that he was involved with Europe’s leading clubs in forming a new breakaway super league after he met with the chief executives of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United in London had prompted Lawwell to contact him.
The move would be disastrous for Celtic – as would changes to the existing format as the leading club in Scotland can currently qualify for the group stages of the Champions League via the “champions route”
“Peter Lawwell called me right away,” said Stillitano. “First of all, it wasn’t me. Let me be clear about that. I’m not the architect. Not even close. I wish I had that type of power.
"I think it would be a shame if a club like Celtic with its history and fan base were to be left on the outside. The same could be said for Rangers and for the likes of Ajax, PSV, Benfica and Porto. I wouldn't want to see a tournament that had nothing to do with these clubs."
“It’s a challenge for the Europeans, not me. Next year, the English Premier League will probably have 20 of the 30 biggest clubs in the world, money-wise. How can Celtic making £2million a year from TV compete with Leicester who make £120million a year from TV?"
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