According to STV, the SPFL has given in to Hearts and Aberdeen over the timing and location of the League Cup semi-final clashes.
In an extraordinary, and possibly costly, climb-down the SPFL has taken the decision to send our match to Murrayfield.
This is what Hearts and Aberdeen wanted, of course.
I don’t know why they didn’t just accede to Hearts the whole way and send us to Tynecastle.
No-one is arguing that one of the games had to be moved.
But the way it’s been done stinks, and is a brand new outrage on top of all the other ones here. Aberdeen and Hearts lobbied and got what they wanted. Celtic asked for simple fairness in terms of how the decision as to which game was to move was taken.
Apparently, we have been roundly ignored.
The last act in the farce is now complete. Celtic’s match will kick-off early. Sevco and Aberdeen will kick-off later in the day at Hampden.
We had called for a simple ballot, something that would make this at least transparent and fair. It is ridiculous to take this decision on the back of what two clubs wanted; there are four involved in the scheduling of these games and we are the only one of the four to have requested that such a decision be taken in an equitable manner. The governing body seems to have decided against that. I guess some form of basic fairness was just too much to ask for.
The SPFL have screwed this up at every turn; we might have guessed that it would be Celtic who would wind up as the biggest losers from the shambles.
The cup semi finals are always played at Hampden; it’s Celtic, as holders, and as the first team out of the hat, who have been utterly inconvenienced and it was done in spite of our request that this be decided in a reasonable way. This whole thing stinks; how come its ended with our fans as the only ones who lose out?
Those who think we have “too much power” in Scottish football should take note of the contempt with which we’re treated at times.
If we had any authority at all we wouldn’t get walked over like this.
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