THE SPFL have this evening confirmed that Celtic will play Hearts at Murrayfield on Sunday 28 October with a early kick-off time of 1.30pm in the re-arranged Betfred Cup semi-final.
The other match featuring Rangers and Aberdeen will remain at Hampden and with the kick-off pushed back to 4.30pm.
Holders Celtic last night asked for a draw to determine which tie should move to Murrayfield but this has been completely ignored by the SPFL. Celtic are expected to release a statement this evening but already Brendan Rodgers has criticised the process and has revealed that he has never been to Murrayfield in his life. The Celtic manager noted that Hearts have used the home of Scottish rugby as their home ground last season and has asked for Celtic to be allowed to train on the pitch.
Craig Levein is no doubt currently advising the groundsmen at Murrayfield on his long he wants the grass to be.
Thousands of Celtic fans have been inconvenienced by the change in scheduling and many will now be unable to attend the match, as the club once again is put to the back of the bus.
Here is the SPFL statement published this evening on their website.
THE SPFL HAS ANNOUNCED THAT BT MURRAYFIELD WILL HOST THE HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN VS CELTIC BETFRED CUP SEMI-FINAL ON OCTOBER 28, WITH THE ABERDEEN VS RANGERS FIXTURE BEING PLAYED AT HAMPDEN PARK LATER THE SAME DAY.
Following discussions earlier this week, agreement was reached to release the SPFL from a legal contract which obliged them to host both of these cup semi-finals at Hampden which has now enabled the SPFL to stage the matches in Glasgow and Edinburgh on the same day.
A spokesman for the SPFL said: “The Hearts vs Celtic match will kick off at BT Murrayfield at 1.30pm, with the Aberdeen vs Rangers game starting at Hampden at 4.30pm.
“In reaching our decision, we have consulted with Hampden Park, the Scottish FA, Scottish Rugby, Police Scotland, Transport Scotland via the Scottish Government and with the four clubs involved.
“A wide variety of issues have been considered, including the ability of local transport networks to safely and efficiently handle the flow of fans from all four teams to and from the stadia.
“As everyone now understands, this has been an extremely challenging and complex process, due in large part to a lack of alternative fixture slots.
“However, we warmly welcomed the Scottish FA’s intervention on Monday. This has given us the chance to quickly make alternative arrangements and we are grateful to the various stakeholders involved for their swift responses over the past 48 hours. We are now finalising details, subject to contract.
“As ever, it simply is not possible to satisfy the preferences of all parties involved and it is the responsibility of the SPFL Board to weigh the various factors and arguments before reaching a final decision.
“We will be announcing details of ticket allocations in the next few days and now look forward to focusing on the forthcoming semi-final matches between four of the top teams in the country.”
A spokesman for Scottish Rugby said: “We’re pleased to confirm our ability to host Hearts and Celtic in the Betfred Cup semi-finals on Sunday October 28.
“We’ll be liaising closely with the SPFL, colleagues at Police Scotland and other relevant event partners to ensure the match is a great sporting occasion for the fans of both clubs.
“It’s a very short timescale, but our team at BT Murrayfield delivers memorable events and will be pulling out all the stops to give both teams the perfect stage to push for a place in the final.”
