Scotland could face Norway in a potentially vital World Cup qualifier in Oslo next season before the bulk of the squad have played a competitive league game.
Scotland could face Norway in a potentially vital World Cup qualifier in Oslo next season before the bulk of the squad have played a competitive league game.
The Herald understands that the Scottish Football Association will ask the Scottish Premier League to postpone opening-day fixtures involving international players on August 8. If successful, it will mean teams like Rangers, Celtic, Hearts and Aberdeen would begin their season a week later, on August 15.
George Burley, the national coach, was turned down in his attempts to have two league games before the Group 9 away match, despite making a personal plea to Lex Gold, the executive chairman of the SPL.
Now, he has told his employers hewould prefer to have his players meet up on August 6, six days before the game in Oslo.
Scotland would risk playing Norway with no competitive match sharpness but the manager believes this is preferable to players over-exerting themselves in the first game of the season and is keen to avoid the number of call-offs that have hampered the campaign so far.
The SPL and SFA are at loggerheads after the league confirmed the new season would begin on August 8, without consultation. Burley had preferred an August 1 kick-off, a date senior clubs have pencilled in for potentially lucrative friendly matches.
Gordon Smith, the SFA chief executive, will now consult his SPL counterparts to find a resolution that would enhance and not jeopardise Scotland's prospects of reaching the World Cup in South Africa next year.
The Norway game had originally been scheduled for August 19 but was put forward a week by FIFA after it emerged the date coincided with the UEFA Champions League qualification programme.
Relations between the two organisations are already strained after the SPL announced the kick-off date for the new season. Such matters are normally agreed upon at the fixtures co-ordination meeting held in February and the SFA are upset that normal protocol had not been adhered to.
The spat comes at the worst possible time, with George Peat, the president of the SFA, keen to united the disparate football factions under an umbrella committee.
