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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Ewan Paton

Celtic slam Scottish Cup final kick-off time change

Celtic have expressed their disappointment over the confirmed kick-off time for this season's Scottish Cup final.

The showpiece game, featuring the Hoops and Inverness, will start at 5.30pm on Saturday, June 3. The match will be played at Hampden Park, Glasgow. 

And the Parkhead club has voiced its displeasure over the game being moved from the traditional kick-off time of 3pm.

A short club statement reads: “We are hugely disappointed that the Scottish Cup Final has been moved from its traditional 3pm slot, something we don’t believe was necessary, or in the best interests of both sets of supporters. 

“Additionally, there was no meaningful consultation with Celtic on this matter, in terms of assessing the many issues affecting supporters attending the match - something which is also extremely regrettable.”

The move was confirmed by the Scottish FA this evening. 

A spokesperson for the governing body said: "The Scottish FA can confirm that the 2022/23 Men's Scottish Cup Final will take place between Celtic and Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Hampden Park on Saturday, June 3, with a 5.30pm kick-off.

"We would like to thank all parties for their support in ensuring a slot commensurate with Scottish football’s showpiece occasion. The match will be broadcast live on BBC One Scotland and on Viaplay."

Caley Thistle also made their feelings clear towards the SFA's decision. 

They said: "The club is obviously very disappointed. We believe the showpiece Scottish occasion should have remained at 3pm.

"We made this known to the SFA last Thursday and we reiterated our view in writing on Sunday following our Semi-final win at the weekend. It is certainly not in the interest of both sets of fans and as we know, our own supporters will be greatly inconvenienced by the travel challenges they now face.

"Unfortunately we could not effect the final decision to move the match. We were awaiting the match details and now hope to make ticket information known in the next 24 hours."

It is anticipated that Celtic will enjoy the lion's share of the ticket allocation for the match. 

Reports today suggest that Caley Thistle will receive only 10,000 briefs for the big game, while Hoops fans will fill the rest of the 52,000 capacity.

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