Celtic v Rangers Scottish Cup final required for SFA to respect kick-off time - Hearts v Aberdeen would have been different story

So that, it seems, is that. A 3pm kick off. Tradition restored, identity re-established. The ravens have now returned to Hampden's sixth floor – or something.

All is well with the world. In its 150th year, the Scottish Cup final has the self-confidence to stand on its own two feet, and rightly so.

Although is it really all that easy? Some will view the – let’s be clear, welcome – decision to revert to a 3pm kick-off following last year’s experiment beneath a strawberry moon as incontrovertible proof that the SFA are the Old Firm Football Association in all but name.

Celtic's Reo Hatate and Inverness' David Carson in action during last season's Scottish Cup final, which was moved to a 5.30pm kick-off to avoid clashing with the FA Cup final. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)

Funny how Rangers v Celtic should be deemed sacrosanct when 12 months ago there was so much controversy surrounding the re-scheduling of a final that didn't involve both halves of the Old Firm. Okay Celtic were present, in what would prove Ange Postecoglou's last game in charge. But so too were a seemingly less consequential element in Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

After it was confirmed that, for the first time in several years, the FA Cup final was kicking off at 3pm on the same day as the Scottish Cup, the SFA could not wait to shift the Scottish equivalent to 5.30pm.

Manchester City v Manchester United was deemed too attractive to compete with. It’s a different story this year now that it’s…Manchester United v Manchester City.

The English FA have confirmed that the Mancunian re-match will kick-off at 3pm again on May 25. As it stands, there will be no knock-on effect in terms of its Scottish equivalent this year, unlike 12 months ago, when, according to SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell, they were left with no choice after discussions with broadcasters, principally the BBC.

Celtic v Rangers in the Scottish Cup final is set to go ahead at 3pm on Saturday, May 25 - at the same time as the FA Cup final in England. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Viaplay – now known as Premier Sports – also held the rights, as they do currently, but they were not overly concerned. They knew the match was not going to be a subscription driver given it was being shown on free-to-air television too.

As Maxwell stressed, the Scottish Cup final “deserves to reach as wide an audience as possible both in terms of capacity attendance at Hampden Park and television viewers nationally and internationally”. He added that BBC One could not give the match a UK-wide broadcast at 3pm, which “would greatly diminish the visibility of Scottish football’s showpiece occasion”.

Celtic released what was described at the time as a “fizzing” statement in which they complained about a lack of consultation.

Inverness, meanwhile, fumed about the travel difficulties of their fans hoping to return home that evening – special trains and buses had to be put on. It had a detrimental impact on their following, with far fewer fans present than in 2015, when they won the final – a 3pm kick off – against Falkirk.

Erling Haaland lifts last season's FA Cup following Manchester City's victory over Manchester United in the final at Wembley. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

The Scottish Cup is a wonderful tournament, one of the jewels in Scottish football’s crown. Why wouldn’t you want it to see it cherished and protected? I wrote a column on this theme at this time last year, wondering why anyone, let alone the Scottish game's governing body, would defer to a match being staged in another country. Some countered by asking a very fair question: why wouldn't you want it to be enjoyed by as many people as possible? Old school traditionalists such as this writer be damned.

It’s an interesting debate and one that will be revisited next year no doubt, if, as has been the case in the last 22 years, normal service is resumed and the Glasgow giants don’t meet each other in the final. The last time was 2002 – Celtic v Rangers went up against Arsenal v Chelsea and, in this writer’s memory anyway, comfortably eclipsed the English version (which was actually held in Wales, at the Millennium Stadium) in terms of drama.

The Ibrox side won a remarkable game 3-2 with a last-minute winner from Peter Lovenkrands. I’d need to look up the score of the game in Cardiff. It doesn't spring readily to the mind.

The Old Firm clearly have the fan power to withstand a huge game elsewhere, whether in London – as this year’s FA Cup final will be – or Cardiff. Had it been Hearts v Aberdeen, we all know what would have happened.

Last year’s arguments about the need to get as many eyeballs as possible on the game will have been rehearsed once more, with a 5.30pm kick-off the likely outcome. Opportunist MSPs who haven’t attended a game, 3pm kick off or otherwise, in a long, long time, possibly ever, would trot out their concerns about fans' welfare being ignored.

As for now, it’s for the BBC to decide how to deal with the perhaps pleasant headache of having the rights to two blockbuster matches starting at the same time. It’s rare enough for the public service broadcaster to have the rights to one these days.

One solution is showing the FA Cup final on BBC 1 Scotland and the Scottish Cup final on BBC Scotland, although that would risk plying a supposedly blue riband fixture – and occasion – with a ‘Scottish Championship’ feel. It might also feel odd to tuck it away on a channel that normally doesn’t start airing until 7pm.

The BBC have got enough on their plate at present and have probably thought twice about petitioning for an earlier kick-off time. Despite noon having now become the ‘traditional’ time for an Old Firm kick off, it’s understood there’s little appetite within the SFA to move this year's Scottish Cup final forward or back, in contrast with 12 months ago.

The latter scenario is a non-starter given Police Scotland’s point-blank refusal to entertain an Old Firm game being scheduled for the evening on a weekend.

So here we are, 3pm. Perhaps by default – but 3pm all the same. Now if only there was some way to revive the tradition of the winners going up the stairs to receive the trophy, something regrettably ditched last year…