With the decision to reschedule their match against Motherwell for Christmas Eve, Rangers have taken issue with the SPFL and Sky Sports.
Friday’s announcement stated that the game will now take place on Sunday, December 24, at noon, instead of the Ibrox side’s original scheduled Saturday, December 23, visit to Fir Park.
The club released the following statement: “Rangers are sorry to learn that our match against Motherwell, which was originally set for December 23, will instead take place on Christmas Eve, December 24.
“The club is very grateful for the sacrifices made by our supporters and the great distances they travel to support their team whenever possible. It doesn’t seem essential for Sky Sports to reschedule the game to Christmas Eve, when many fans will have other plans and public transportation is scarce, considering the potential broadcast slots they could have on Saturday.
“In addition, the club was only informed of the change in fixtures an hour before it was made public, leaving no time for discussion or argument with the SPFL or Sky Sports.
“The players traveled back from Cyprus on Friday evening for almost five hours; thus, earlier in the season, the club requested that our match against St. Mirren on Sunday, October 8, start later than noon to allow for more recovery and preparation time. We declined this request.
The league values its partnership with Sky Sports, and we as a club have a great working relationship with them. But this choice is incredibly bad and disrespectful to our supporters.
Motherwell has expressed reservations as well, stating that “moving a major fixture to this date is a special circumstance that should’ve led to additional consultation and discussion with the club,” even though they acknowledge that the broadcast deal permits such modifications.
In addition, a statement said, “We can only express our regret to those whom this action would cause inconvenience, especially to those who will be unable to attend the game.
“We recognize that this change is especially annoying for supporters who reserved pre-game hospitality, which is already fully reserved.
“We are collaborating with vendors to offer a substitute service before and after the game. We still want to see as many of our supporters as we can at the game.
