Brian Laudrup has called for the Scottish FA and SPFL to scrap back-to-back semi-finals on the Hampden pitch.
The playing surface barely cped with Celtic vs Kilmarnock on Saturday evening, let alone Rangers taking on Aberdeen the following day after the recent wet weather. All four managers were critical of the pitch, with the game's governing bodies have vowed to improve ahead the final between Ange Postecoglou and Michael Beale's teams on 26 February.
But Laudrup has questioned whether the final four encounters need to be played on successive days at Hampden. The Dane feels it takes away from the occasion when neither set of players can play their normal game due to having to deal with the mud. And he's pointed to the fact that his homeland doesn't play the semi-finals at the national stadium in Copenhagen, which has issues of its own when it comes to the condition of the park.
Not many things will have the managers of Rangers and Celtic expressing a near-identical viewpoint, but the condition of the Hampden pitch managed to unite them. Michael Beale and Ange Postecoglou were spot-on in their stern criticism of a dreadful playing surface for the Viaplay Cup semi-finals.
With Jim Goodwin and Derek McInnes also having their say, it's a real shame for the image of Scottish football that the pitch became such an obvious talking point. You won't see many big fixtures in Europe being played in similar conditions. Especially not in the 21st century. To be honest, it almost felt like a bit of a throwback to previous times.
Across both semi-finals, the players deserve huge credit for creating entertaining and competitive contests. But they shouldn't have had to overcome a pitch that made it risky or even near-impossible for them to express their technique.
To me, there are two issues to consider. The first is obviously the fundamental condition of the Hampden surface and what can be done to improve it.
It didn't look great even at kick-off between Celtic and Kilmarnock on Saturday night. Those who look after it will have to examine why that was the case and whether money can be spent to try and put it right.
But there is also the point about back-to-back scheduling. How many other countries in the world would decide to play two of its biggest football matches of the season on the same pitch in the space of 24 hours during the middle of the winter? I think it's insane, to be honest.
I'm only looking on from afar. And I understand this season's semi-finals had to be moved because of the World Cup. But, even so, if you were starting a cup competition from scratch and thinking about the best way to protect the quality of the football, would you come up with this plan? I don't think so.
Inevitably, the pitch was in an even worse state on Sunday. Players struggled with their first touch. And I think it also made them very tired.
You could see some beginning to cramp after about 70 minutes, which is quite rare.
I come back to the question of image because I'm a huge defender of Scottish football. To me, it's one of the best small countries for the game. The history, the passion, the support and the rivalries are all there.
But it's also about how it gets shown to those who might be seeing it for the first time or have negative pre-conceptions.
People watching on Sunday, in particular, would have wondered what on earth was going on. They see the pitch and it somehow confirms the rather dismissive opinions that exist about the quality of the Scottish game.
It's unfair. But that's how it looks.
It creates a terrible impression when, in fact, I would always argue there is a lot to be positive about within Scottish football.
If you want to improve the package you serve up to customers throughout the world, the pitch has to be as close to perfect as possible. Hampden was miles away from it.
This isn't the first year there's been an issue. You don't have to think back too long to remember past criticism. And it doesn't help when people see immaculate surfaces for games down in England.
Over in Denmark, we've got some problems with our national stadium, too. Due to too many concerts being staged at the Parken, they often have to change the pitch and it becomes incredibly difficult to make it look good.
The Danish national team plays there, so does FC Copenhagen. The difference from Scotland, of course, is that there would never be two games played on it in consecutive days. Cup finals are played there. But not the semi-finals.
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