No more Old Firm Hogmanay clashes

[ian1964 10,475]

No more Old Firm Hogmanay clashes as SPFL bosses agree to scrap fixture after meeting with pub bosses

 

The traditional fixture between Celtic and Rangers will no longer happen on December 31 after pub, club and restaurant bosses experienced a drop in business.

 

SPFL bosses have agreed not to make the Old Firm play this Hogmanay, the Record can reveal.

 

They decided to move the controversial fixture after meeting business leaders who feared it would ruin their New Year trade.

 

Pub, club and restaurant bosses warned that customers would stay at home to avoid Old Firm-related trouble.

 

Politicians were furious last year when the SPFL revealed their plan for Rangers to play Celtic at Ibrox on Hogmanay. Police insisted it was entirely the SPFL’s decision to pick December 31 because it was better for their fixture list.

 

It was suggested that police only agreed to the fixture because moving it game to January 1 or 2 would have meant a huge overtime bill.

 

SPFL bosses stuck to their guns as criticism mounted. Tory sport spokesman Brian Whittle called the decision “baffling” and “surprising from a safety and a sporting point of view”.

 

But the league finally relented yesterday after chief executive Neil Doncaster met Stuart Patrick of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, Paul Waterson of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association and nightclub boss Donald McLeod.

 

McLeod, who owns Glasgow’s Garage club, said: “We met to discuss the pros and cons. There was very few pros.

 

“Neil and his team agreed there would be no Old Firm match this Hogmanay and that it’s not a fixture they are looking at in the future. They deserve credit for listening to us and taking action.“This isn’t anti-football. We all love our football. It’s just about scheduling matches in a sensible way.“There is no doubt last year’s match hit trade. People stay at home because they rightly or wrongly assume there could be trouble.“Restaurants and hotels saw last-minute cancellations and retail is also hit.”

 

Patrick added: “I think they get the message that having the fixture on this day went down very badly with the business community.”

 

A source at the SPFL confirmed to the Record that the Hogmanay game would not take place.

[MacK1950 2,253]

Ridiculous that these are the reasons,the only reasons that should have been taken into account are safety,difficulty in stewarding/policing and effect on family situations.

Opening a gate like this allows opportunities for these organisations to cry wolf at any time now.

[Uilleam 5,521]

The booze lobby wins the day.

I had thought that government policy was to discourage strong drink and strong drinking.

Clearly the administration's message has failed to outweigh the Glasgow publican's greed.

[Gribz 743]

So move them to January 1st or 2nd when they should be played.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

Moronic idea in the first place

 

 

[theboyharley 5]

Old Firm games should be played at 8pm on a Sat night and screened all round Europe. Stick it in a slot that no one uses. It doesn't have the quality but the passion and 100 miles an hour element will have ppl glued. Maybe then we'd get a better TV deal. Having the game at 12 doesn't stop binge drinking. It's time we dictate

 

 

 

[boabie 230]

The end of another era. I remember them doing away with New Years Day games against the manks and making trips to Firhill carrying 12 cans of beer and a half bottle trying to recover from the night before.

Life goes on.

[craig 5,199]

Old Firm games should be played at 8pm on a Sat night and screened all round Europe. Stick it in a slot that no one uses. It doesn't have the quality but the passion and 100 miles an hour element will have ppl glued. Maybe then we'd get a better TV deal. Having the game at 12 doesn't stop binge drinking. It's time we dictate

 

La Liga have games at 8pm on a Saturday night.

[cooponthewing 1,139]

The end of another era. I remember them doing away with New Years Day games against the manks and making trips to Firhill carrying 12 cans of beer and a half bottle trying to recover from the night before.

Life goes on.

 

Will be New Year's Day next year I would think? It's a Monday.

[JFK-1 1,684]

I think we should cancel the fair fortnight in July and have it in November because ice cream men are hit hard in July when everybody and his granny swans off to Benidorm. Oh and incidentally the pubs too and apparently we need to organise everything around them.