Celtic will be given the majority of Hampden Park for November’s Betfred Cup semi-final against Hibernian.
The SPFL recently announced ticket plans for the match which will take place at 5:30pm on Saturday 2nd November. Celtic will be given the majority of tickets for the National Stadium – in a big change from the same fixture two years ago.
Earlier in the week we reminded you of the SPFL mistake that ensured thousands of empty seats the last time Celtic faced Hibs at Hampden. The 2017 Betfred Cup semi was shrouded in controversy after the Leith club demanded an equal share of tickets but failed to sell them.
Segregation demands dictated that Celtic fans couldn’t fill the vacant seats and, as a result, Hampden was half empty for the game.
At the time a Celtic spokesperson told the Daily Record: “Celtic Football Club is extremely disappointed to learn so many tickets will be unsold for such a prestigious and eagerly awaited match.
“Hibernian demanded an even split of tickets but as it stands have only sold half of their allocation.
“It is totally unacceptable that we have thousands more season-ticket holders wishing to attend the match but they will now not be able to, whilst thousands of seats lie empty.
“This is not for the first time this has happened and we will be writing to the SPFL on a matter which needs to be addressed.”
Celtic fans will far outnumber Hibernian
Well it seems as if the SPFL have listened and changed their strategy as a result. Celtic will receive sections C, D, F, G and I of the lower tier Hampden bowl. That’s effectively from the dugout all the way round to the far away corner flag. The club will also get part of the South Stand’s upper tier and there is room for further changes depending on ticket sales.
All in all, Neil Lennon’s men should be backed by close to 30,000 fans for the occasion with the Edinburgh side likely to sell around 10,000.
Hampden should be pretty full for what should be a cracking cup semi.
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