Celtic’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen is likely to be played in November.
Last week the SPFL published its fixture list with the Premiership season starting on August 1, yesterday they announced that the Betfred Cup would start on October 6.
The Scottish Cup is on hold at the semi-final stage with the status of Hearts holding up the conclusion of the tournament.
The Championship campaign won’t start until October 17 with the SFA under pressure to conclude the competition this year before the major clubs enter the 2020/21 competition.
The Scotsman reports:
Details of the conclusion of the 2019-20 Scottish Cup, which had reached the semi-final stage before football was suspended, have still to be agreed.
The Scottish FA is determined to finish the tournament but rescheduled dates are dependent on which division Hearts are playing in when football resumes.
If they are in the Championship, their semi-final against Hibs would not be expected to go ahead until early November, along with the other last-four tie between holders Celtic and Aberdeen.
Should Hearts win their case at arbitration, and be permitted to play in the Premiership next season, it is possible the Scottish Cup ties could be played earlier.
Celtic are due to play Aberdeen at Pittodrie on October 24 in the SPFL, if that date was used to play the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden it would result in minimal disruption to the SPFL fixture list.
Neil Lennon’s squad are looking to lift the trophy for the fourth season running to take their domestic trophy winning run upto 12 in a row.
One further issue for the SFA to deal with is transfers, Jonny Hayes played for Celtic in the tournament but after his contract wasn’t renewed he moved to Aberdeen.
Craig Gordon never played for Celtic in the competition but could face the hoops in the final if both clubs come through their semi-finals against Hibs and Aberdeen.