Scottish Cup semi-finals: Likely dates and kick-off times hinge on key Rangers factor

Celtic, Aberdeen, Rangers and Hearts set to learn Hampden semi-final time slots

The Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-finals will take place next month with dates and kick-off times yet to be confirmed.

The draw paired holders Celtic with Aberdeen while Rangers face Hearts with both matches set to take place at Hampden Park.

Hearts were the last side to confirm their place as they edged past Morton at Cappielow thanks to a late Kenneth Vargas strike sealing a 1-0 win on Monday.

Celtic, Aberdeen, Rangers and Hearts will compete for a place in the Scottish Cup final. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Rangers defeated Hibs 2-0 at Easter Road on Sunday, while a Daizen Maeda hat-trick helped Celtic to a 4-2 quarter-final win over Livingston the previous day.

Also on Saturday, Aberdeen booked their place in the final four with a 3-1 win over Kilmarnock in Neil Warnock’s final match in charge.

The semi-final ties are scheduled for the weekend of April 20 and 21 with one match to be played on the Saturday and the other played on Sunday.

BBC and Viaplay hold the TV rights for the semi-finals and will determine the kick-off time for each match, in conjunction with the Scottish FA.

When making the decision, Rangers’ potential progress in the Europa League past Benfica needs to be considered, with the Ibrox club eyeing a place in the quarter-finals of that competition should they overcome the Portuguese on Thursday.

The Europa League quarter-final second leg ties are due to be played on Thursday, April 18 – just days before the semi-finals take place at the national stadium.

That would likely see Rangers v Hearts scheduled for Sunday, April 21 to give Philippe Clement’s side time to recover from their European exertions. A Sunday semi-final over the past two years has meant a kick-off time of either 1.30pm or 2pm.

Celtic v Aberdeen would then be scheduled as the first semi-final on Saturday, April 20 with the kick-off time for this particular fixture in each of the past two years set for 12.15pm.

Of course, if Rangers fail to overcome Benfica then the door would remain open to Rangers v Hearts taking place on the Saturday and Celtic v Aberdeen on the Sunday.

The two victorious sides will then contest the 2024 Scottish Gas Scottish Cup final on Saturday, May 25, at Hampden.