In the midst of Celtic’s ecstatic celebrations of their Scottish Cup win, something was notably different.
Instead of lifting the trophy up the steps at Hampden, as is decades-old tradition, Callum McGregor was directed to a podium down on the pitch.
Many observers noted this, and many weren’t happy, as is usually the case whenever anything is remotely different in Scottish football.
We now have something of an explanation for why the change was made.
Give us your gut feeling after the cup final… will Martin O’Neill be Celtic manager next season?
Celtic players and broadcasters at the centre of Scottish Cup trophy lift change
According to information gathered by the Daily Record, the players themselves were a central part of the alteration.
As is especially the case with modern squads, there simply isn’t room for all of the players to gather around in celebration when on stairs in a single file queue.
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Additionally, as anyone who has seen Celtic lift a trophy at Hampden will testify, it’s hard to make the celebrations out from the stands when they are taking place on the stairs.
The decision to move them to the on-pitch podium is more suitable for in-stadium fans, as well as broadcasters.
Essentially, the only justification for keeping it on the stairs was tradition. In fairness, in the oldest competition in professional football, this absolutely counts for something.
It’s not the first time that SFA decision-makers have broken from tradition; the usual 3PM kick-off time was changed to 5.30PM in 2023.
This was to avoid a clash with the Manchester Derby in the FA Cup final. Celtic won the game 3-1, beating Inverness in Ange Postecoglou’s final game in charge.
It was the same scoreline yesterday, and the same level of opposition… will it be the same outcome for the Celtic manager?
DOUBLE COMPLETE 🏆🏆 GIVE US YOUR INSTANT REACTION TO THE SCOTTISH CUP FINAL WIN 👇
Celtic comfortably beat Dunfermline in the final!
Martin O’Neill on his Celtic future and ‘project’
Speaking to the media on his future after Celtic completed the double, O’Neill said: “I don’t think I’ll lose the passion for the game. Honestly, I really don’t.
“But I would be thinking that the football club to go forward, to go forward properly, would probably be looking at somebody younger.
“If you’re asking me, would you have a project or something that gets here? No, I couldn’t do that. I wouldn’t have it.
“I’ve never believed in a project anyway, to tell you the truth. But I definitely couldn’t do that.”
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