'An absolute farce' - Hibs fans fury at SFA's 300 tickets per club plan for the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden Park

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Fuming Hibbies vented their anger at the paltry number of Easter Road diehards who will be allowed into Glasgow’s Hampden Park for the all-SPFL Premiership final on Saturday, May 22.

Fans of the East Road club were expecting that up to 2,000 supporters – half from each of the finalists – would be able to see the match.

The Scottish Football Association (SFA) had applied for 2,000 to be allowed following the seating template used for Euro 2020 games.

However, the Scottish government ruled that two-metre physical distancing will be needed, rather than the 1.5m that will allow 12,000 fans at the Euros.

In a brief statement, the club said: “Hibernian FC today confirmed that approval granted by the Scottish Government means up to 300 Hibernian fans will be able to attend the Scottish Cup Final on May 22nd

"The club is considering the fairest and best way to distribute the tickets and will let supporters know tomorrow

"Thank you for your patience.”

READ MORE: Hibs' Hampden heroes take to social media to recall historic Scottish Cup victory over Rangers

Despite pleas from the club, fans did not take the news of the low number of briefs well as they are desperate to witness a repeat of the heroic 3-2 victory over Rangers in the 2015/16 final.

Mark Osbourne, 25, said: "It is absolutely disgraceful considering the stadium holds almost 52,000 and there will be 12,000 in the stadium in a few weeks time. Hibs should just give the tickets to the players' family members so at least they get to enjoy the day."

Steven Black, 27, labelled the decision ‘an absolute farce’.

He said: "Some fans might not agree but I reckon they'd have been as well not letting anyone in if they couldn't manage to accommodate the season ticket holders at both clubs."

“It is an absolute farce to be completely honest when you consider the size of the stadium.”

Fellow Hibbie Gary Smith, 28, said: "I think it's a joke how you can have a 52,000 seater stadium and only let in 600 fans. Surely this is a waste of money for the SFA?

And lifelong supporter Geoff Aird, 60, suggested switching the match to Murrayfield - which had been ruled out on cost grounds.

He added: "I think it is an absolute disgrace.

"They could have used the cup final to test their procedures for the Euro's. It’s ironic that 12,000 fans will be in the same venue three weeks later. Why not use Murrayfield which could accommodate 2,000 fans and still maintain social distancing - it would be perfect for two clubs from the east of the country."

Despite the blow, diehard Hibbie Irvine Welsh took to twitter to claim he had 50 of the gold-dust briefs ‘ring-fenced’.

He tweeted: “Sorted. Already got 50 tickets ring fenced. @callum_kane get the bus booked mate.”

In their statement explaining the allocation, the SFA said: “Following dispensation from UEFA to allow a restricted number of supporters to attend the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park on Saturday May 22, the Scottish FA approached the Scottish Government for 2000 fans to be accommodated using the approved UEFA EURO 2020 stadium seating template.

“The Scottish Government has today confirmed that a two metre physical distancing configuration must be used, not the 1.5m configuration that will be in operation for UEFA EURO 2020. At two metre physical distancing, the number of spectators able to be hosted in the approved areas of the stadium reduces to 600 in total – 300 per club.

“We have notified both finalists, Hibernian and St Johnstone, and while the number is less than anticipated we look forward to a limited number of fans attending the cup final.”

Earlier this week, Uefa agreed to allow a crowd at Hampden for the final despite the stadium being formally handed over to its control for the Euros.

And as of Monday, at least 500 fans people can attend outdoor events in Scotland without specific permission.

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