Rangers and Celtic make major calls on whether to accept SPFL help and postpone Premiership clashes due to qualifiers
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RANGERS have confirmed that they will postpone their clash with St Mirren later this month should they reach the Champions League playoffs.
After years of being criticised for not doing enough to help their teams in Europe, all Scottish clubs have the option to postpone one fixture on matchday three should they reach the playoff round of qualifying of their respective competitions.
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Russell Martin faced a major decision
Credit: Willie Vass
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Brendan Rodgers Head coach of Celtic looks on prior to kick off in the Como Cup
Credit: Getty
Dundee Utd vs Aberdeen, scheduled for that same weekend, has also been postponed due to the Dons involvement in the Europa League playoffs - with Hibs also indicating their clash with Falkirk will be put back if they reach the Conference League playoff round.
Celtic too are in playoff round action against either Slovan Bratislava or Kairat Almaty but they've decided to press on with their home clash with Livingston - and will be hopeful of extending their current advantage over the Gers and other sides at the top of the table.
Rangers wrote: "Our fixture against St Mirren at the SMiSA Stadium has now been rescheduled for Sunday, 24 August, kicking off at 12 noon and will be shown live on Sky Sports.
"However, following a request from the club, should we progress to the UEFA Champions League play-off round, we will exercise the option to postpone the match and it will be played at a later date."
The SPFL wrote: "The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) can today provide a further update on match arrangements for round three of the William Hill Premiership.
"As previously confirmed, Dundee United v Aberdeen on Saturday August 23 has been postponed following a request by Aberdeen, who will be participating in the Europa League play-offs.
"The new policy, which allows clubs involved in UEFA play-off matches to postpone their round three fixtures, was approved by the SPFL Board in April to support clubs aiming to reach the league phase of UEFA competitions.
"Falkirk v Hibernian was selected by Premier Sports for live broadcast on Saturday August 23, kick-off 5.45pm, but, as earlier announced, following a request from Hibernian will also be postponed if they overcome FK Partizan to reach the Conference League play-off round.
"St Mirren v Rangers has been selected for live coverage on Sky Sports on Sunday August 24, kick-off 12 noon, but following a request from Rangers will be postponed if they reach the play-off round of the Champions League.
"Following discussions with Celtic, their home match versus Livingston remains scheduled for 3.00pm on Saturday August 23, alongside Hearts v Motherwell and Kilmarnock v Dundee.
Players are running the Rangers dressing room - Martin knows EXACTLY what he's doing
"New dates for postponed round three matches will be announced following publication of the UEFA league phase fixtures at the end of August."
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