Motherwell v Celtic: Both clubs 'raised concerns' over unusual kick-off time, says Alan Burrows

Motherwell chief executive Alan Burrows says fans are being inconvenienced by the kick-off time for the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final against Celtic.

The Scottish Professional Football League have announced the dates for the last-eight fixtures, with Motherwell v Celtic and Rangers v Dundee being played on the same day with staggered kick-off times.

The match at Fir Park will take place at 6.15pm on Wednesday, October 18, while the Ibrox game starts two hours later at 8.15pm.

Burrows and his counterparts at Celtic said to the SPFL and host broadcaster Premier Sports that the scheduling would present difficulties for both sets of supporters, but the date was confirmed after no suitable alternative could be found.

Writing on Twitter, Burrows said: “Both Motherwell FC & Celtic FC raised concerns around the kick-off time based on the difficulties it will present to supporters wishing to attend the match.

“We asked the broadcaster to consider having the two live matches, scheduled for that day, run simultaneously on different channels.

“However, we have been informed that this is not possible due to other contractual commitments and no other arrangement are possible.

“Whilst we are extremely keen to work with our broadcast partners and commercial sponsors to ensure they get maximum value for their investment in Scottish football.

“It's a far from ideal scenario for fans of both clubs.

“We have been reassured that the circumstances surrounding this particular scheduling are extremely rare and unlikely to happen again.”

The other two ties are Kilmarnock v Dundee United (Tuesday, October 18, live on TV at 7.45pm) and Aberdeen v Partick Thistle (Wednesday, October 19).