SFA in danger of diluting what could be a glorious Celtic occasion

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The Scottish Football Association have announced the date and time of Celtic’s Scottish Cup Final against Hearts next month.

The game will take place on the 20th of December with a 2:15pm kick-off.

Despite the odd nature of the Scottish Cup this season due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the fact that no crowd will be in attendance, this is still a big occasion for Celtic, due to the fact that the Hoops will be going for a fourth successive domestic treble with a win.

However, the time and day of the kick-off is in danger of diluting what should still be a show-piece event of the season.

Game should be on a Saturday

The game should be taking place on a Saturday, with no other games taking place that day. That is what has always happened with the Scottish Cup Final, aside from 2013 when it moved to a Sunday.

Now, there are league games on the Saturday, but they can be shifted to the Sunday. After all, it’s not like there are going to be any fans at any of the games.

Even worse, there is a Scottish Premiership game set to take place before the cup final! Kilmarnock takes on Aberdeen with a noon kick-off. That game should at least be moved to the Saturday, even if the cup final isn’t.

The cup final should be one of the biggest events of the season. However, it is now in danger of becoming just another game.

Authorities aren’t helping themselves

Yes, the lack of crowd and the fact that the game is in December don’t help with that. However, the SFA aren’t helping themselves with the date and time of the game.

It’s not even like Celtic will be playing in Europe in the midweek before the final takes place. At the moment the Hoops have a free midweek.

There is still time for the SFA to fix this situation, and give the game the prominence it deserves.

Move the fixture to the Saturday with a 3pm kick-off. It is the least that the competition deserves.

In other news, Scott Robertson is confident what he is learning on loan will eventually pay off at Celtic.