THE Scottish Football Association was hit with a humiliating fiasco yesterday after Hamilton Academical refused to host the William Hill Scottish Cup tie between East Kilbride and Celtic.
It had been rumoured within Scottish football that all was not well with the SFA’s choice of venue, which was seventh on the list of seven choices given by East Kilbride, whose own 500-seat capacity had been ruled out on the advice of Police Scotland.
A brief statement on Hamilton’s website broke the news: “It has recently been reported that we will be hosting the William Hill Scottish Cup fifth-round fixture between East Kilbride and Celtic on February 7.
“We have a full programme of academy, youth and community events already planned for that weekend and have no intention of altering our club programme and as a result will not be in a position to make New Douglas Park available to stage the tie.”
The bombshell could put Hamilton into a legal battle with the SFA which has the power to order them to host the match. But last night it appeared that a negotiated settlement for a different venue would be the most likely option.
The row is hugely embarrassing for the governing body as it concerns its own competition, and because the match is due to be televised by the BBC. That a venue has not yet been arranged for the most important match in East Kilbride’s history is mortifying for the SFA and will hardly please sponsors William Hill.
The problem for the SFA is that their rules are quite explicit that when a club’s stadium is unsuitable, the match must be played at the nearest suitable stadium.
Rule 13 of the competition states that ties will be played at the “nearest registered ground of at least equivalent capacity which in the opinion of the board is most suitable for the occasion” .
New Douglas Park is undoubtedly the nearest suitable stadium to K-Park. But if measured by road travelling distance, the second-nearest suitable stadium is the National Stadium at Hampden Park, home of the SFA, which is only 1.2 miles further away than New Douglas Park. At 8.5 miles from K-Park by road, even Celtic Park is only 1.5 miles further away than New Douglas Park.
The SFA issued a statement late last week: “The decision regarding the choice of venue was taken in accordance with the terms of Scottish Cup competition rule 13 .... on the basis that the SFA had been advised by Police Scotland that this tie could not proceed at K-Park Training Academy on the grounds of spectator safety and security – a view shared by the association’s administration.
“This matter was discussed at a meeting at K-Park on January 14, attended by the East Kilbride chairman Mark Horner.”
The SFA confirmed it had received East Kilbride’s list of venue preferences on Tuesday.
East Kilbride chairman Mark Horner said: “We are in the dark. We are gobsmacked with the situation and we are waiting to talk to the Scottish FA. We sent them a letter yesterday to ask if New Douglas Park was big enough due to ticket demand. We have not heard anything back.
“Hamilton not hosting was news to us. We heard via the media.”
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