Celtic set to find out Scottish Cup semi-final scenario; Hampden talks scheduled

By Hamish Carton

March 15, 2023

We should find out the finer details of Celtic’s Scottish Cup semi-final clash against Rangers very soon.

Ange Postecoglou‘s all-conquering Hoops were paired with their city rivals in Monday night’s draw.

With the League Cup already in the trophy room at Celtic Park, and a nine point lead at the top of the Premiership, many believe the semi-final may be the final major hurdle in our bid for another treble.

All we know at this stage is that our game against the Ibrox side will take place on the weekend of April 29/30, alongside the other semi between Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Falkirk.

But clarity may be about to arrive, with the Scottish Daily Mail reporting that an ‘operations meeting’ will take place at Hampden Park today.

They say that ‘dates, kick-off times and ticket allocations’ will all be resolved. So what can we expect to see?

The ticket allocation will be 50/50 just like the recent League Cup final between the sides. Both sides will be backed by around 25,000 supporters.

The kick-off time is a more complex issue and will likely depend on preferences held by match broadcasters.

Viaplay Sports will show one semi-final exclusively, with the other match on both Viaplay and the BBC. It seems almost certain that their exclusive pick will be the Glasgow Derby.

Last year, in a similar situation, we faced Rangers at Hampden on the Sunday, with the game kicking off at 2pm.

While the match was on Premier Sports at that time, it does seem likely that Viaplay would look for a similar slot.

The last four Scottish semi-finals between ourselves and Rangers have all been on a Sunday.

Regardless of that fact, it really is anyone’s guess when the game will be played.

What we do know is that Hampden Park will be rocking, and Celtic will have the chance to take a major step towards the treble.

In other news, Yosuke Ideguchi’s difficult period has continued