BBC Sport pundit Stuart Cosgrove has claimed that “inherent bias” is behind the decision to award Rangers more tickets than Aberdeen for the League Cup Final.
Rangers will receive 25k tickets for the Scottish League Cup Final clash at Hampden on the 17th of December whilst Aberdeen will receive 19.5k for their own supporters ahead of the game in Glasgow.
The SPFL’s decision has spawned much debate about the distribution of tickets at Scottish Cup Finals with Aberdeen releasing a statement expressing their “extreme disappointment” with the situation, even suggesting they have been treated unfairly by the SPFL.
The statement claims the SPFL opposed the suggestion of Aberdeen receiving an equal share of tickets, and then handing any spares to Rangers, due to “operational challenges and attendances at previous Semi Finals/Finals”.
Discussing the situation with Off the Ball co-host Tam Cowan, Stuart Cosgrove has branded the decision “terrible” and claims Rangers and Aberdeen should have an equal share of the tickets.
The outspoken St Johnstone supporter has also claimed that the situation is an example of the “inherent bias” which appears to swing towards Rangers.
“It’s a terrible decision because it’s exposed to too many people that love Scottish football that there’s inherent bias in it,” said Cosgrove, as clipped by BBC Sport Scotland.
“And the inherent bias is this; two teams get to a Final, when cups kick off you don’t know who these two teams would be.
“Everybody should feel they’re treated equal and ok it’s Rangers and Aberdeen. Pull the names out the hat and whoever comes out first is the home team.”
It’s a view that was echoed by co-host Tam Cowan, who claims that Aberdeen fans might’ve filled half of Hampden if only given the chance.
“For Rangers and Aberdeen; split it 50/50,” said host Tam Cowan. “And if by any chance Aberdeen are struggling to fulfil that number then you hand the rest of the tickets to Rangers.
“And we know that teams take bigger supports to ‘glamour games’. We know that Aberdeen will have more at Hampden than they’d ever have at Pittodrie for a league game.”
Hot air surrounds Aberdeen, Stuart Cosgrove & Rangers League Cup tickets
It is clearly both unproductive and unnecessary for the SPFL to hand extra seats in the stadium to a club who are unlikely to sell them.
Whilst Aberdeen might blow hot about demanding extra tickets for the League Cup Final, the Dons only have 10k season tickets holders; a record number only achieved this summer.
The notion that Aberdeen will then find another 9.5k tickets for the League Cup Final with Rangers – let alone another 12.5k – is fanciful at best and deluded at worst.
What’s more, suggesting that the SPFL’s hopes to allow as many match-going fans as possible into Hampden for the showpiece game is some kind of grand conspiracy against Scottish football is insulting to the intelligence of supporters.
Tens of thousands of Rangers fans pour money into the game on a weekly basis and this is quite clearly the logical process of working out how to fill the stadium with fans.
In fact, if Aberdeen fail to sell the 19.5k tickets they’ve been handed to Rangers, going by the logic of Stuart Cosgrove and Tam Cowan the remainder should be handed to the Ibrox side.
Going by the Dons season tickets numbers, we’ll be very surprised if they manage to shift them.
The reality is that the planning, build-up and execution of the Scottish League Cup Final – from a footballing to a policing sense – is made much easier and more streamlined by laying out allocations well ahead of time.
Aberdeen are also clearly unlikely to sell north of 20k tickets for the Match.
It’s not a grand conspiracy and this kind of rhetoric and discussion is not constructive nor can it in anyway be taken seriously.
