With Celtic set to face Rangers in the Scottish Cup Final on the 25th of May, there was plenty of discussion surrounding whether or not the kick-off time will be moved to avoid clashing with the English FA Cup Final.
Manchester United and Manchester City will face off in the 3pm showpiece final on the same date south of the border and there were fears that the SFA or even the broadcasters would move the pencilled-in time of Scotland’s end-of-season curtain call.
There was a precedent set last season when Celtic’s final against Inverness Caley Thistle was moved to a later time of 530pm and there were fears that this could have been replicated this season or that the game would have been moved to an earlier time of 1230pm.
SFA lock in Celtic vs Rangers kick off time and broadcast details
In a statement relasead today on the SFA website, the national association said, “The Scottish Gas Men’s Scottish Cup Final between Celtic and Rangers will take place on Saturday, 25 May, kicking off at 3pm, live on BBC One Scotland and Premier Sports.
“This season – the 150th anniversary edition of the competition – has produced more unforgettable moments.
“This past weekend, Celtic defeated Aberdeen on penalties in a classic Semi-Final on Saturday before Rangers saw off Heart of Midlothian on Sunday to seal their place in the showpiece event.”
In my opinion, this is a great decision by the SFA. For too long Celtic’s games, especially the Glasgow Derby‘s, have been moved to awkard times to accomodate boradcasters like Sky Sports and Premier Sports.
This announcement will be warmly welcomed by fans of Celtic and Rangers as a traditional 3pm Saturday kick-off time is a rarity. Especially with this type of showpiece occasion.
For the Celtic fans, they will be hoping that the final is more straightforward than the semi against Aberdeen as Brendan Rodgers looks to continue his unbeaten streak in the competition.