Celtic have this evening announced that the Europa League tie against Ferencvaros at Parkhead will take place at 3:30 pm on Tuesday the 19th of October.
In a statement released by the club, the details for this match were confirmed, with fans being left surprised when this match will occur.
‘Celtic’s home match against Ferencvarosi TC in the Europa League has been confirmed as taking place on Tuesday 19th October with a 1530hrs kick-off.’
The reasoning behind this was also released in the statement.
“Due to the Cop26 Conference taking place in Glasgow, Police Scotland informed us that no home matches may take place on matchday 4 of the Europa League.
“This means UEFA must schedule two home fixtures in the city on matchday 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 us 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.
I”n an attempt to avoid this change, we have been in extensive discussions with all relevant authorities, exhausting all avenues to try and establish a better solution for the club and our supporters; however, none of these other options has been successful due to either UEFA considerations, policing requirements or domestic fixture scheduling.
“Clearly, this is an unfortunate and unique set of circumstances driven by COP26. We fully understand the frustrations of our supporters. We can assure our fans that we have made significant representation at the highest levels to try and avoid this eventuality.”
With this news, the club also announced that with the inconvenience this might cause to supporters, there will be a change as to how tickets will be sold, with supporters having the option to secure their three-match package or priority access to single match tickets.
When it comes to Celtic in Europe, Hoos fans are used to winter evenings under the lights for some of the biggest fixtures of the season.
However, it will definitely have a different feeling to it on matchday three, with a midweek game taking place in the afternoon.
The frustrating part will, of course, be fans who cannot make midweek fixtures at this time due to work commitments.
This really does seem like a truly bizarre set of circumstances that we will have to face up to in a few months time.
The 3:30pm kick off won’t bother me at all. Hate those 8:00pm matches. Don’t get home till after midnight!
It’s Crazy And Its Not About Individuals Making The 3:30 Kick Off It’s About Those Who Are Working And Cant Get The Time Off The Supporters Club Bus’s All Is Unconvienient It Would Be Better To Change The Date Not Rocket Science ?