Celtic announced this afternoon that the Europa League Group stages match against Ferencvaros will now take place on Tuesday 19 October with a 3.30pm kick-off, exactly 64 years to the day of Celtic’s greatest ever domestic triumph, when we defeated Rangers 7-1 in Hampden sunshine in the 1957 League Cup Final.
While that’s a great reason in itself for the move and the somewhat awkward kick-off time, this really is something that is outwith Celtic’s control and the club are putting in place flexible arrangements re ticketing so that supporters will not be left with tickets that they can’t use.
The actual reason for this strange kick-off time is related to the Cop26 Conference that will be taking place in Glasgow. Police Scotland have informed the club that no home matches may take place on match day 4 of the Europa League.
This means UEFA must schedule two home fixtures in the city on match day 3. Police Scotland, stewarding companies and other match day service providers are unable to facilitate two major fixtures at home on the same day.
Therefore UEFA has informed Celtic that the Club’s Matchday 3 in the Europa League Group stage in October must change date from the normal Europa League slot. In addition, we have been also been informed that the match will be required to have a late afternoon kick-off to avoid a clash with UEFA Champions League matches.
In an attempt to avoid this change Celtic have been in extensive discussions with all relevant authorities, exhausting all avenues to try and establish a better solution for the club and the supporters, however none of these other options have been successful, due to either UEFA considerations, policing requirements or domestic fixture scheduling.
Celtic regard this as an unfortunate and unique set of circumstances driven by COP26. The club fully understand the frustrations of our supporters and have assured the fans that they have made significant representation at the highest levels to try and avoid this eventuality.
Recognising the inconvenience which this scheduling can cause to supporters Celtic has announced that season ticket holders will have the option to secure three match packages or priority access to single match tickets, giving fans more flexibility. Arrangements for supporters who are on our Home Cup Ticket Scheme will be communicated directly to them.
Celtic also announced last week that season ticket holder three match packages have already been frozen at 2018/19 prices, this option continues to offer the best chance to see all 3 games at Celtic Park from your own seat.
While these matters are totally outwith Celtic’s control, the club want the support to know that they fully understand the frustration this may cause.
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