Celtic and Inverness hit out at SFA as Scottish Cup final moved from 3pm slot

Celtic and Inverness Caledonian Thistle have criticised the Scottish FA over the decision to move the Scottish Cup final from its traditional 3pm slot.

The Hampden Park showdown will start at 5.30pm on Saturday, June 3, with the switch made to a later time in order to avoid a clash with the FA Cup final between Manchester United and Manchester City at Wembley taking place at 3pm the same day.

The move follows discussions with broadcasters Viaplay and BBC Scotland, who will both show the match live. Celtic expressed disappointment with the lack of consultation from the SFA regarding the impact on supporters.

A statement from the Parkhead club read: “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.

The Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Inverness has been given a tea-time kick-off. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

“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.”

Some Inverness supporters were quick to point out some of the difficulties the change produces, notably that the last train from Glasgow to the Highland city on that day leaves at 7.37pm, giving supporters no chance of travelling home by rail after the match.

The Championship club added that they were “obviously very disappointed” with the decision. An Inverness statement read: “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.”

An SFA statement confirming the kick-off time, added: “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.”