SPL approves Celtic match against Real Madrid

THE Scottish Premier League has approved Celtic’s plans to play Real Madrid on the second Saturday of the season.

Celtic this week announced they would take on the Spanish champions in Philadelphia on 11 August, seven days after the SPL kick-off. Last year chief executive Neil Doncaster announced teams could postpone one match early in the season in order to play lucrative friendlies as a “one-off solution” because of the July 23 start, the earliest kick-off date. But the SPL last night announced a partial extension of the policy two days after Celtic confirmed the friendly.

A statement read: “The SPL board is mindful of the benefit to Scottish football as a whole of its clubs participating in glamorous and lucrative matches against some of the world’s highest-profile clubs. The SPL has therefore confirmed that, in line with an SPL board decision taken in November 2011, Celtic FC and Rangers FC will be scheduled to play at home on the weekend of 11/12 August 2012. Both clubs will be allowed to postpone their games that weekend in order to play in friendly matches. Any other club scheduled to play at home that weekend will also be offered the same flexibility.”