Celtic will be forced to rearrange their Premiership fixture against Hibernian after Rangers reached the Premier Sports Cup Final, with police and the SPFL keen to avoid the Old Firm playing different games in Glasgow on the same afternoon.
Martin O’Neill’s side were scheduled to host Hibs at Parkhead on Sunday, December 13, the date of the Hampden showpiece. The champions cannot move the match forward 24 hours to Saturday because they are in Europa League action away to Omonia Nicosia on the Thursday.
Precedent Set Last Year
Last year, Rangers had to shift their Ibrox game, also against Hibs, to avoid the national stadium Cup final clash between Celtic and St Mirren. The Gers played that one a day later on Monday night, winning 1-0 through an Emmanuel Fernandez goal.
Celtic v Hibs could be shunted to the Monday evening, too, but that will not be possible and will need to find an alternative date in the packed calendar if Marink Reedijk’s team win today to reach the season's first domestic Final and are back at Hampden on the 13th to face Rangers.
Other Fixtures Affected
Rangers were also due to be in top-flight action that date, with their trip to St Johnstone pencilled in for TV coverage at noon. That McDiarmid Park match will now need to find a new home.
If Hearts prevail this afternoon, their Tynecastle league match against Motherwell will be on the move too.
