Motherwell won't ask for 50:50 final split with Celtic

Motherwell's two-goal semi-final hero Curtis Main. Picture: Bill Murray/SNS

The Fir Park outfit will face Celtic at Hampden Park on 19 May after both teams booked their places with semi-final victories over the weekend.

Motherwell beat Aberdeen 3-0 in Saturday’s lunchtime match, while Celtic brushed aside rivals Rangers with a 4-0 victory yesterday.

Now, instead of demanding an equal share of tickets for the showpiece match, Motherwell will request around 13,500 tickets as they wish the encounter to be a 52,000 sell-out.

Controversy surrounded the allocation of tickets for last season’s final between Celtic and Aberdeen when the Dons demanded an equal share. Due to the dimensions of Hampden and the Parkhead club traditionally taking the East Stand, that meant the Ladbrokes Premiership champions ended up with 700 fewer tickets than the Dons.

A statement was released on the Celtic website, saying they were “very disappointed” with the situation, which then drew a response from the SFA defending the situation.

There was similar rancour earlier this campaign when Celtic hit out at Hibs after the Easter Road club failed to sell around 10,000 tickets for the clubs’ semi-final meeting in the Betfred Cup.

Brendan Rodgers’ men advanced to the final for the second year in succession yesterday with goals from Tom Rogic, Callum McGregor, Moussa Dembele and Olivier Ntcham. Rangers had Ross McCrorie sent off for a professional foul. On Saturday, Motherwell’s Curtis Main, with two, and Ryan Bowman scored as the Steelmen upset Derek McInnes’ Aberdeen.

The showdown next month will be a repeat of the 2011 Scottish Cup final, which Celtic won 3-0.