Johnstone Burgh boss Stevie Farrell has condemned the scheduling that forces his side to play two cup matches at the same time, saying the situation is 'madness' and would only happen in Scottish football.
Two cup ties on the same afternoon
The Lowland League West club have been told they must play away to Tayport in the Scottish Communities Cup at 2.30pm on November 21, with a Lowland League Cup tie against Dunipace kicking off at 3pm the same afternoon.
The club said last night that they had 'explored every option to avoid the clash'. Farrell criticised the authorities over the scenario, blaming a lack of foresight when leagues were amalgamated.
He said: "It is just madness and it wouldn't happen in any other business sector, but it happens in Scottish football.
"My frustration is there has been a complete oversight in these leagues amalgamating.
"I don't think there would be another European League in the fifth tier of football where this practice would occur.
"It is such a bad look for Scottish football and it is because nobody could foresee this scenario happening. Nobody went to the end and worked their back in any strategic way in the redevelopment of the leagues.
"That is my biggest disappointment. We have people picking up big salaries in these authorities to have strategic outlooks, strategic overview, and nobody saw this coming.
"What should have happened was when these teams came in from the Lowland League, coming from long-established Junior setups with the Junior Cup being at the heart of it, there should have been a phasing in process.
"So it is just a lack of joined-up thinking from the authorities."
Youth players to step in
The double fixture leaves Burgh short of players to cover both games, with Farrell saying he will have to turn to youth players to fulfil the fixtures.
He added: "I only have a first team squad of 22 players so if you do your sums, that doesn't allow for two squads of 18 players, so I am 14 players short to fulfil the two fixtures.
"I will probably have to use players who are not at this level and that is unfair on these kids as well.
"Now we are going to have to throw kids into a game that they are not ready for. Nobody thinks of that.
"It is retrospective thinking, and the game in Scotland is full of that. I have to think of player welfare as well. I don't want to rush players back from injury either."
Club statement on the clash
Burgh also expressed frustration as a club, saying every possible option to avoid the clash had been exhausted.
They said in a statement: "We would like to update our supporters on the ongoing situation regarding our Scottish Communities Cup tie against Tayport.
"We have explored every possible option to find a suitable solution that would allow us to play the tie outwith a Saturday afternoon as our schedule is already full.
"This has included attempting to rearrange league fixtures and South Challenge Cup ties, travelling to Tayport midweek, playing Tayport on a Friday night or Sunday afternoon, and, most recently, offering to play the Communities Cup tie immediately before or after our upcoming Lowland League Cup fixture.
"In addition, we offered to forfeit our share of the gate money to help cover any inconvenience caused by rearranging the fixture.
"Despite exhausting every option available to us, we have been unable to reach a solution that allows us to play outwith a Saturday afternoon.
"Regrettably, we now find ourselves in a position where our Communities Cup tie and Lowland League Cup tie must be played on the same day, at the same time, on Saturday, November 21.
"We are extremely disappointed that, despite our best efforts, we have been unable to find a reasonable solution that would allow us to compete in both games with our strongest available squad.
"We'd like to thank Tayport and the other clubs we have spoken to for considering the options we have put to them and understand that clubs want to stay within the traditional Saturday afternoon kick off times.
"We want to reassure our supporters that every avenue has been explored and every effort has been made to find a workable solution. It certainly hasn't been for the lack of trying."
