The additional strain on Hampden pitch not being spoken about as Spain star adds to Celtic concern

Add as preferred source on Google

Celtic fans may be getting a little bit worried about the state of the Hampden pitch again, with our Scottish Cup semi-final on the horizon.

On Sunday 30 April, Ange Postecoglou‘s side will take on Rangers for a place in the cup final against Falkirk or Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Given the nature of the opposition waiting in the final, and Celtic’s nine-point lead at the top of the Premiership, it is probably a fair assessment to suggest that the game will determine whether we lift a treble or not.

The Hampden pitch has come in for plenty of criticism recently, with Postecoglou slamming it after our League Cup semi-final win over Kilmarnock.

At the weekend, Scotland’s John McGinn also raised concerns over the pitch at Hampden.

One of the main Celtic-based fears seems to be that Falkirk vs Inverness will take place just 24 hours earlier.

But the strain for the surface doesn’t stop there. It’s not being spoken about much, but there are actually two more games due to be played at Hampden a week earlier.

Both Women’s Scottish Cup semi-finals – Rangers vs Motherwell and Glasgow City vs Celtic – will take place on the hallowed turf a week before the men’s encounters. (Hampden events)

There’s also women’s international action on 11 April with Scotland hosting Costa Rica.

The pitch looked in poor condition for Scotland’s 2-0 win over Spain last night, with Spanish international David Garcia unhappy post-match.

As reported by The Herald, the Osasuna man said: “We already saw that the grass was too long, and that cost us.

“We can’t make excuses for that, we have to look at ourselves and fix what we did wrong today.”

While Spain may well be looking for every excuse under the sun at present, it is still concerning to hear a player from a ball-playing team moaning about the quality of the surface.

Let’s hope they can get the pitch cut and there’s plenty of dry weather over the next four and a half weeks.

In other news, new South Korea boss Jurgen Klinsmann has singled out Hyeongyu Oh for some praise