Celtic FC
Rangers frustration as offer to reverse Ibrox fixture ‘rebuffed’ – full list of SPFL amendments including ‘unusual’ Sunday slot
Glasgow road closures impact on SPFL schedule
Rangers have expressed frustration after one of their fixtures was moved to an 8pm kick-off on a Sunday.
The William Hill Premiership match against St Johnstone due to be played on Sunday, October 6, has been pushed back to the later time due to the Great Scottish Run taking place in Glasgow on the same day.
Road closures around the southside of the city mean that Ibrox will be unable to safely and efficiently host 45,000 spectators for a traditional afternoon kick-off.
Rangers had been willing to reverse the fixture to McDiarmid Park in order to maintain an earlier kick-off, but those advances were turned down.
A club statement read: “Rangers put forward a number of alternative options including an earlier kick-off and a fixture reversal, but all were rebuffed by the other stakeholders involved.
“Playing on the Saturday is not feasible given our match with Lyon takes place on the Thursday evening, while the Monday evening is also not possible with that falling in the international window.
“The club is fully cognisant of the inconvenience this will cause to many of our supporters, and we share in your frustration at this situation.
“We will continue to engage with stakeholders including public transport providers and Glasgow City Council, and update supporters on access plans and routes closer to the match taking place.”
The match, which has been selected for live coverage on Premier Sports, is among several fixtures to be given new dates and times by the SPFL.
A total of 13 matches have been moved to Sundays following publication of the fixture lists for UEFA group stage competitions, while broadcast selections have been made for the weekends of September 28/29 and October 5/6.
Sky Sports will show Rangers v Hibs on Sunday, September 29 and Ross County v Celtic on Sunday October 6. Both games will kick off at 12 noon.
Premier Sports will have live coverage of St Johnstone v Celtic on Saturday September 28, kick-off 5.45pm, and the aforementioned Rangers v St Johnstone fixture.
SPFL Chief Operating Officer Calum Beattie: “I would like to place on record my thanks to the two clubs and all other stakeholders for their assistance throughout this process to enable the Rangers v St Johnstone match to take place on its scheduled weekend.
“The congested nature of the fixture list, compounded by the additional UEFA matchdays this season, is not without its challenges. We appreciate this is an unusual fixture slot for an SPFL match but our options were very limited.
“We are pleased to announce that Premier Sports will cover the match on the Sunday evening, ensuring that any supporters who are not able to attend on a Sunday evening will be able to watch the match live on Premier Sports. Travel information for supporters will be released by Rangers and St Johnstone ahead of the match.”
William Hill Premiership fixture amendments:
Saturday September 28
St Johnstone v Celtic (Premier Sports, 5.45pm)
Sunday September 29
Rangers v Hibernian (Sky Sports, 12 noon)
Sunday October 6
Ross County v Celtic (Sky Sports, 12 noon)
Aberdeen v Heart of Midlothian (3.00pm)
Rangers v St Johnstone (Premier Sports, 8.00pm)
Sunday October 27
Hibernian v Heart of Midlothian (kick-off TBC)
Rangers v St Mirren (kick-off TBC)
Sunday November 10
Rangers v Heart of Midlothian (kick-off TBC)
Sunday December 1
Heart of Midlothian v Aberdeen (kick-off TBC)
St Johnstone v Rangers (kick-off TBC)
Sunday December 15
Kilmarnock v Heart of Midlothian (kick-off TBC)
Rangers v Aberdeen (kick-off TBC)
Subject to Premier Sports Cup final
Sunday December 22
Heart of Midlothian v St Johnstone (kick-off TBC)
Sunday January 26
Dundee United v Rangers (kick-off TBC)
Sunday February 2
Rangers v Ross County (kick-off TBC)
-
Celtic FC12 months ago
Video: Cameron Carter-Vickers incident penalty by VAR causes a flashpoint in the first half
-
Blog8 months ago
Clinton Morrison confronts Kris Boyd on Sky Sports and makes it known that he supports Celtic
-
Celtic FC7 months ago
Roy Keane warns Tottenham what to do with Ange Postecoglou as he leaves a mysterious Celtic message in Spurs verdict
-
Celtic FC10 months ago
Watch Mikey Johnston ignite a West Brom frenzy as the Celtic winger scores the first goal in under 30 seconds
-
Celtic FC10 months ago
Liel Abada posted on social media 24 hours after Celtic’s absence
-
Arsenal7 months ago
Hope for Arsenal? Pep Guardiola picks three West Ham players who could dampen Manchester City’s victory celebrations
-
Blog11 months ago
Celtic announce their first signing for January
-
Blog1 year ago
Celtic star steals the show and makes headlines by humiliating Porto player on national duty