Aberdeen chiefs today announced their disappointment after having their appeal for a 50-50 ticket split in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic rejected.
The Pittodrie club have received an allocation of 19,000 for the match against Celtic despite proposals for a half-and-half split.
It comes despite Hearts securing a 50-50 split with Rangers for their semi-final match at Hampden.
Here, we explain why Hearts and Rangers will be a 50-50 split while Aberdeen will receive fewer tickets than Celtic...
What is the ticket split for the Scottish Cup semi-finals?
Aberdeen have been allocated 19,000 tickets for their semi-final fixture against Celtic at the national stadium. That's the same number they received for the Viaplay Cup final against Rangers.
It means Celtic will receive a larger share of tickets for the semi-final showdown at Hampden.
However, Hearts and Rangers will split the tickets 50-50 for the match with 21,000 briefs for both clubs for the semi-final clash.
That comes after Hearts made an "extremely strong case" to Scottish FA chiefs in order to gain an even split of tickets for the match.
Why did Aberdeen not get 50-50 split with Celtic?
Aberdeen claim historical ticket sales led to their request for a 50-50 split being denied by Hampden chiefs.
In recent outings to the national stadium Aberdeen sold 13,700 of an allocated 14,500 against Rangers in 2022/23, just under 13,000 of an allocated 20,100 against Hibs this season and 19,198 for the Viaplay Cup final against Rangers - with the offer of further tickets declined.
It's understood, though, that Aberdeen did have the offer of receiving a 50-50 split for the match against Celtic should they cover the cost of any unsold tickets in their section.
Hearts agreed an identical clause in order to secure a half-and-half split with Rangers for the upcoming Scottish Cup semi-final.
But, it's thought Aberdeen declined the offer leading to the club receiving a lesser allocation than Celtic for the semi-final.
READ MORE: Celtic, Rangers, Hearts & Aberdeen discover semi-final dates
What have Aberdeen and Hearts said about ticket allocations?
An Aberdeen statement read: "We can now confirm the kick-off time, ticket pricing and allocation for the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup Semi-Final with Celtic at Hampden.
"The match will take place on Saturday 20th April with a 12.30pm kick-off and will be televised live on both Viaplay and BBC Scotland.
"The Club requested the opportunity to sell up to 50% of the tickets, with any unsold tickets by an agreed date being allocated to our opponents. Disappointingly, this has once again been declined based primarily on historical ticket sales at this stage of the competition.
"As a result, the Aberdeen allocation for this match will be for up to 19,000 tickets, almost identical to the Viaplay Cup Final in December, split between the South Stand and West Stand, depending on demand."
A Hearts statement read: "Heart of Midlothian is delighted to give the following update to supporters with regards to ticket allocations for the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-final.
"The Jambos will meet Rangers at Hampden on Sunday, 21st April at 3pm with the game being shown live on Viaplay.
"Yesterday, the club put forward a proposal to secure an equal share of tickets, guaranteeing Hearts supporters the opportunity to purchase seats in Hampden’s North Stand. We had to make an extremely strong case for our argument, given the size of our opponents’ fanbase and historic semi-final ticket sales.
"We are, therefore, extremely pleased to confirm that our proposition was accepted, and both Hearts and Rangers will be given an initial 21k allocation of tickets to sell to our respective supporters.
"We would like to thank the Scottish FA for their assistance in this process.
"This gives us the best opportunity to have Steven Naismith and our players walk out onto the Hampden pitch to a sea of maroon, spread out equally and fairly across the national stadium.
"The door has now been opened for as many Hearts fans as possible to attend and, hopefully, have a special day out. One condition of this agreement is that the club covers the cost of any unsold tickets from our allocation so it is in all of our interests to sell out and give the team the level of backing that Hearts fans are famous for."
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