LIVINGSTON chief executive Dave Black has hit out at the SPFL over Rangers’ move to Hampden.
The temporary re-location was rubber-stamped by the league and the Scottish FA who also own the National Stadium, this afternoon.
Gers will be unable to use Ibrox for the start of the season after delays in the delivery of steel put a halt to re-development work in the Copland Road Stand.
That prompted scrambled contingency plans seeking out alternative grounds including Murrayfield, but they’ll make the much shorter move across the southside of Glasgow for Champions League qualifiers and the William Hill Premiership kick-off.
As part of the rental deal Rangers will also fork out for an ‘accelerated growth programme’ for the Hampden pitch.
The ground work will compensate for the additional use following concerts by Pink and the Foo Fighters this summer and ahead of Scotland‘s Nations League kick-off with Poland on September 5.
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Previous tenants Queen‘s Park are also due to use their old ground next season but the Spiders will also play games at the City Stadium next door.
They were due to face Livingston there on August 10 – but that game has been brought forward almost 18 hours to the Friday night in order to avoid a clash of two games on the one south Glasgow site.
Instead Rangers‘ game with Motherwell will take centre stage on the Saturday afternoon.
But that tweak has angered Lions CEO Black.
Taking to his own personal social media account on X.com – formerly Twitter – he relayed the news of the fixture change and added: “It’s disappointing that our schedule has been impacted by matters entirely unrelated to our own football club.
“Whilst having sympathy that unexpected issues can occur, I don’t believe our fixture should be the one inconvenienced to remedy that.”
Rangers issued a note of thanks and updated fans on the move following the SPFL and SFA confirmation.
The club said: “At this stage, the club can announce our William Hill Scottish Premiership matches with Motherwell on Saturday, 10 August and Ross County on Saturday 24 August will be played at Hampden, with both matches kicking-off at 3pm.
“With draws still to be made for the Uefa Champions League third qualifying round and potential play-off round, plus a potential home tie in the Premier Sports Cup, the club will communicate news on dates and kick-off times for them once the information is confirmed.
“The club is continuing to work tirelessly on the Copland Stand project at Ibrox to complete that as soon as possible. As soon as the club can provide a definitive update on matches returning to our home, it will do so.
“Rangers again puts on record its thanks to the Scottish FA and the SPFL for their considerable work in reaching this solution.
“Above all, the club thanks our supporters for their ongoing patience and understanding as we deal with this challenge.”
The Gers had been aiming to add new disabled facilities into the stand but shipping delays from the Far East has caused the summer schedule to overrun.
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