The match at Fir Park had been due to been played on Saturday, December 23, but Sky Sports have selected it as one of their festive TV picks and the match will be now kick off at noon on Sunday, December 24. All remaining matches for that gameweek will be played the day before at 3pm.

A statement from Motherwell read: “The club were informed of the decision to move our fixture against Rangers to Christmas Eve yesterday afternoon, an hour before the SPFL initially intended to announce publicly. Whilst we fully acknowledge that the contract which is currently in place between the SPFL and our main broadcasters allows kick off times to be moved from Saturday to Sunday midday, with an agreed notice period, we believe that moving a major fixture to this date is a special circumstance that should’ve led to additional consultation/ discussion with the club.

“We can only apologise to supporters who will be inconvenienced by this move and especially to those who will no longer be able to attend the game. We understand this move is particularly inconvenient for fans who had booked pre match hospitality, which was already sold out. We are working with suppliers to provide an alternative offering pre and post match. We hope to still see as many of our fans as possible at the game.”

Motherwell and Rangers will play on Christmas Eve.

Four other matches have been selected and moved for TV coverage, and they are as follows: Hearts v Rangers on Wednesday, December 6 at 8pm, Kilmarnock v Celtic on Sunday, December 10 at noon, Dundee v Celtic on Tuesday, December 26 at 3pm and St Mirren v Celtic on Tuesday, January 2 at 5pm.

The SPFL has also announced that “there is potential for a further selection on the weekend of the Viaplay Cup final (December 16/17) to be made in due course”.

Motherwell-Rangers moved to Christmas Eve as Steelmen hit out at lack of consultation as three Celtic matches affected by TV