Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
It’s going to be festive final for Scottish Cup after SFA confirm dates
THE 2019-20 William Hill Scottish Cup will enjoy a festive finale after the Scottish Football Association confirmed its plan for the competition’s remaining fixtures.
The semi-final matches between Hearts v Hibernian and Celtic v Aberdeen will be played across the weekend of Saturday, October 31 and Sunday, November 1, with the exact dates and kick-off times subject to live broadcast.
The delayed final, originally scheduled for May 9, will now be played on Sunday, December 20.
All three fixtures will be played at Hampden Park and the competition has made a couple of changes to its rules.
Players who have previously played for another team during the 2019-20 competition will not be cup-tied.
Clubs will be permitted to use five substitutes, as per the changes to the laws of the game agreed by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).
The change of rules means Aberdeen winger Jonny Hayes can now face his former club Celtic in the semi-final.
Dons manager Derek McInnes is delighted to have Hayes available for the big game.
He said: “Having Jonny available for the Scottish Cup tie is great.
“We got wind last week the SFA were hoping to waive the cup-tie ruling as we’re into a new season but it’s great to get it ratified.
“It’s a real bonus for us to have Jonny available but what’s more important is seeing those dates now pencilled into the fixture list.
“It felt like the day the fixtures for the season are announced this morning when it was made official and having those dates to look forward to is great.”