SCOTTISH FA president Rod Petrie says this season’s Scottish Cup will definitely be played to a conclusion – and hasn’t ruled out Murrayfield as a possible semi-final venue.
The former Hibernian chairman has revealed the tournament – the final of which was originally set for this Saturday – wouldn’t be declared null and void. He also said there was no prospect of playing any of the three remaining ties behind closed doors.
Petrie believes there is no “pressure of time” to play the semi-finals between Celtic and Aberdeen, and Hearts and Hibs, the latter of which could be staged in Edinburgh if circumstances made that a preferable option.
He said: “The Scottish Cup needs to be played to a completion, two semi-finals and a final. We don't feel a pressure of time as to when it will happen. It will be in line with the medical advice, social distancing and any other restrictions that are in place. But it’s the commitment of the SFA to play out our showpiece competition when it is safe to do so in front of spectators.
“We need to be open-minded enough to look at all considerations [on the possibility of playing Hearts vs Hibs at Murrayfield].
“It may be that the risks of 50,000 people travelling from Edinburgh to Glasgow is outweighed by other measures but equally we need to do it in a matter that is fundamentally safe, creates a spectacle and provides some income for the participating clubs. That's important, too.”
UEFA have pencilled in October for Scotland’s Euro 2020 play-off against Israel but Petrie would be happy to wait until next year if need be.
“The tournament is scheduled to start in June 2021 so there’s no pressure to play that play-off fixture in 2020,” he added. “Why not take the time? We want to give a great account of ourselves and have the strongest Scotland team possible. But ultimately it is UEFA’s decision and we will respect whatever decision they come to.”
Petrie also described the recent squabbling among SPFL clubs as “not helpful” but felt it wasn’t the Scottish FA’s place to get involved.
“What we are witnessing can probably best be described as unedifying,” he added. “It is not helpful to the game or to the image of the game but these are important matters that the SPFL and the clubs need time to be resolved and it will be resolved.
“It is not appropriate for the SFA to intervene. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that there might still be dispute at the end of that process and the Scottish FA is the final arbiter so, while it is not appropriate for us to intervene, if there is something that is brought to us to be resolved then that is when we will have a role. It would be wrong to have a view, or express a view, prior to the matter coming to conclusion.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel