The Scottish Cup final between Celtic and theRangers on 25 May is likely to kick-off at 3pm and in doing so go head to head with the FA Cup final south of the border between the two Manchester sides.
The BBC has broadcasting rights for both cup finals and will be lobbying hard to have the two games run one after the other to attract maximum audience and there is some merit in this argument as it would showcase the Scottish game south of the border IF the BBC down south agreed to show the Scottish Cup final.
The Scottish Cup Final could kick-off at 3pm with the FA Cup final having an early evening kick-off. It’s hard to believe that Police Scotland would allow a later kick-off than 3pm for a Glasgow Derby Scottish Cup Final. Indeed they will be more likely to push for an early kick-off of around 12.30pm for the Celtic v theRangers match, to reduce the level of alcohol consumption ahead of kick-off with both sets of supporters.
The Scottish cup final as it did last year will clash with the FA Cup final. That game against Inverness CT which saw Celtic clinch yet another treble was moved to an early evening kick off, although the chances of this year’s one being moved to the same time slot are slim.
For obvious reasons the TV stations will not want a clash of fixtures due to viewing figures. The all Manchester final will be the one that is considered the ‘biggest game’ so it will get all the attention, and ours sadly will be the one put on the back burner and allocated a different time slot.
That time slot will undoubtedly be a 12.30pm kick off, and for a national cup final that will annoy many supporters at both Glasgow clubs. The cup final traditionally kicks off at 3pm and to put it forward to a lunchtime start will be considered as outrageous.
Last year’s 17.30 kick off was okay for Celtic supporters, as it gave us most of the day to soak up the cup final atmosphere, but there is not a chance that the supporters will be given that chance next month. Police Scotland will have a big say in that, so it’s a non starter.
In an ideal world the FA cup final would kick off in the evening and we would play at 3pm. Lunchtime kick offs in a national cup final are good for no-one.
Yesterday the Daily Mail claimed that the Scottish FA are planning a 3pm kick-off and will therefore go head-to-head with the game at Wembley. If that upsets the BBC then frankly few Celtic supporters will have much sympathy for that mob.
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The BBC will be upset, so what. BBC Scotland are covering the final, so 3pm should be the ko. No interest in the FA cup final
It’s pathetic to see both games scheduled for the same time and date once again. For television viewers across the UK, it is far better to run both games consecutively rather than concurrently.
2.00 pm and 4.30 pm shouldn’t be too difficult to work out. Nobody cares if isn’t 3.00 pm. I’ll be annoyed if I have to miss the Manchester Cup final because it clashes with the Glasgow one. It’s just unnecessary.
The Scottish Cup is traditionally played at 3pm on a Saturday. Last year’s change was a disgrace and the vitriol was well deserved. I hope the SFA have learned their lesson. I’ve absolutely no interest in the English cup and don’t care when it’s played.