Celtic and Rangers cup tie rescheduled to Sunday to avoid royal funeral

Scottish Football Association confirms revised kickoff times for weekend’s fourth-round ties

Rangers’ Scottish Cup tie against Celtic has been rescheduled to 3pm on Sunday to avoid clashing with the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.

The Old Firm fixture at Ibrox was originally set for 4pm on Saturday, an hour after the start of the ceremonial royal funeral in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

After consultation with broadcast partners, relevant government officials, Police Scotland and participating clubs, the Scottish Football Association confirmed revised kickoff times for the weekend’s fourth-round ties.

St Mirren versus Inverness Caledonian will kick off at 6pm on Friday night, with Motherwell against Greenock Morton taking place an hour later.

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The tie between League One strugglers Forfar and Premiership side Dundee United remains unchanged and will be broadcast live by BBC Scotland on Friday at 7.45pm.

However, Kilmarnock versus Montrose will now kick off at 11.45am on Saturday to ensure any extra time and penalties do not overlap with Philip’s funeral.

The BBC’s live broadcast of Stranraer versus Hibernian has been switched from 12.15pm on Saturday to 12.15pm on Sunday, while Premier Sports’ other live match, Aberdeen hosting Livingston, has been brought forward from 2pm on Sunday to Saturday at 5.30pm.

That match will kick off at the same time as St Johnstone versus Clyde.

Nine fixtures

Meanwhile, the Scottish Professional Football League have also pushed nine lower-league fixtures forward to a noon kickoff on Saturday to ensure they do not clash with the service.

In the Championship, Alloa’s visit of Raith Rovers, Ayr’s trip to Arbroath and Dunfermline’s East End Park clash with Queen of the South will start at lunchtime.

The League One top-of-the-table clash between Cove Rangers and Falkirk and East Fife’s clash with Peterhead have also been rescheduled, as have four League Two meetings – Annan v Brechin, Cowdenbeath v Stirling Albion, Edinburgh City v Queen’s Park and Elgin v Albion Rovers.