Murrayfield could solve cup dilemma
STEVEN GERRARD insists it would be wrong for the SPFL to ask either half of the Old Firm to play their Betfred Cup semi-final less than 48 hours after Europa League action. Rangers will face Aberdeen in the last four after brushing aside Ayr United last night, while Celtic and Hearts will meet after defeating St Johnstone and Motherwell respectively. Those ties were scheduled at Hampden for the weekend of October 27/28, with both to be shown live on BT Sport. However, Murrayfield could be an alternative. With Rangers
hosting Spartak Moscow on the preceding Thursday, Celtic also travel to meet RB Leipzig in Germany. A Saturday fixture would therefore present serious issues for either Glasgow club in terms of their recovery time. It is believed shifting one of the semi-finals to Murrayfield and playing both on the Sunday is an option under active consideration by the SPFL. Ibrox boss Gerrard admitted he would await developments with interest. ‘The way I understood it was the first tie out of the draw plays on Saturday?’ joked Gerrard, referring to Celtic being first out of the hat. ‘No, I haven’t been told that. I thought that was always the case? ‘Listen, whoever has to do that, it’s not fair on any team, having played on the Thursday night. I’ll be interested to see the outcome, how they decide. All the best with that one.’ Asked if he would lodge a protest if scheduled to play on the Saturday, Gerrard added: ‘We’ll deal with that when we have to. I’m not sure how they will select who plays when or what the rules are. ‘Whoever has to do it, it won’t be fair as 48 hours isn’t enough.’ Celtic counterpart Brendan Rodgers insists he’ll leave the SPFL to sort out the mess, saying: ‘I think they will have to look at it now. It obviously presents a problem because there are midweek games the week after. I’ll let them sort that out.’ Gerrard, meanwhile, is facing a striker dilemma for the semifinal tie after Alfredo Morelos was hit with a ban. The Colombian will sit out the Aberdeen game after a booking for dissent — his second in the Betfred Cup. Morelos, who was on the scoresheet against Ayr, reacted to referee Bobby Madden after being floored by a challenge from Jamie Adams. With Kyle Lafferty cup-tied, and Gerrard admitting he has not been impressed by loanee Umar Sadiq, the Ibrox boss will have to find a solution. ‘I can understand him getting frustrated as I thought it was a foul on him,’ said Gerrard of Morelos. ‘The ref said their player got the ball, but I disagree. ‘We’ll have to get the job done without a natural No9 unless Sadiq comes to the party and improves an awful lot.’