Scottish Cup final prepares for televised clash with FA Cup showpiece, with SFA keen to avoid repeat of 2023 row after kick-off
- Hampden Park to host first Old Firm Scottish Cup final in 22 years in May
- City and United will play a repeat of last year’s FA Cup final on the same day
- Nottingham Forest were stripped of sympathy after three tough decisions – Listen to It’s All Kicking Off Podcast
The Scottish Cup final is set to clash with the FA Cup final on Saturday May 25 at 3pm.
Celtic and Rangers are set to meet in the first Old Firm Scottish Cup showpiece for 22 years, at the same time as Manchester City clash with arch rivals Manchester United at Wembley.
And Mail Sport understands there is no appetite for a repeat of the fierce row sparked after the SFA moved last season’s Hampden final to 5.30pm to avoid a ratings clash with the showdown between Manchester and London.
Finalists Celtic and Inverness Caledonian Thistle released statements criticizing the decision while MPs on Holyrood’s sports committee wrote to the governing body, saying the decision set a “dangerous precedent” and urging them to reconsider their decision.
The SFA said the later kick-off was aimed at giving the match “as wide an audience as possible”, following a request from the BBC.
Last year’s Scottish Cup final was moved to a later time slot to avoid a conflict with the FA Cup final.
Celtic secured a place in the Scottish Cup final with a penalty shootout victory over Aberdeen last weekend.
Although the company once again holds the live broadcast rights to the finals on both sides of the border, the SFA prefers to avoid a repeat of last year’s fallout, with a further request for a postponement considered unlikely.
Police Scotland are also reportedly reluctant to allow a later kick-off time for a Glasgow derby at Hampden.
Last year, the uproar came from the English Football Association, bringing forward the kick-off time of the FA Cup final from 5:15 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. for the first time since 2011, on police advice.
With tens of thousands of supporters arriving from Manchester to London, the Metropolitan Police are favoring a 3pm kick-off to reduce the risk of problems and the same kick-off time is expected to be confirmed later this week following concerns discussions between the FA, police, Brent Council and TV rights holders BBC and ITV.
To complicate matters, the European Rugby Champions Cup final is due to kick off at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at 2.45pm, and ITV was hoping to broadcast it live.
Rangers were in the first Old Firm final since 2002 when Cyriel Dessers scored twice in a 2-0 win over Hearts.
Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic booked their place in the final by beating Aberdeen 6-5 on penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw at Hampden on Saturday.
Rangers made it to the first Old Firm final since 2002 when Cyriel Dessers scored twice in a 2–0 win over Hearts the following afternoon.
The Hampden clash will be broadcast live on Premier Sports as well as the BBC.
