Hibs executive chairman Ron Gordon has launched a critical verbal assault on the SPFL for their scheduling of the season's first Edinburgh derby.
The match against Hearts takes place at Easter Road on August 7 and doubles up as manager Lee Johnson's first home Premiership game. Gordon doesn't understand the scheduling and reckons the football authorities have made a mess of that fixture and where it is placed. There is also the small matter of Rangers coming to Leith too before the end of August. Their owner reckons it will have an adverse impact on attendances amid construction work at the stadium.
Gordon told Hibs fan media outlets: "I’m not happy. I think the league, putting the derby so early in the season… for a variety of reasons, number one, we’re doing construction, we’re going to get the west stand completed on the Wednesday or Thursday of the Sunday before Hearts.
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"They knew that and they scheduled the biggest game of the season. I mean, honestly, who schedules a derby as the opening day? You would never have Celtic- Rangers or Man City-Man United as your opening day.
"It makes zero business sense, it kills your season ticket, it’s just like ‘who does that?’. I’ve already had this conversation with the league, I just find it absurd.
“But, in any case, that is our reality because once it’s published, it’s published. It puts in a difficult position where we need to be ready to play those big matches. Not only do we have Hearts, we have Rangers after that at home. I think the scheduling is really, really poorly planned on multiple fronts.
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“I was, like, shocked. I was really disappointed in the league, to be honest with you, because you would never do that. Opening day is, by default, a high attendance day.
"We get 2000-3500 who walk up because it’s opening day and it’s a beautiful and sunny day. It’s a high attendance day.
"Instead of having two in the derby and opening day you collapse them into one. You just kill 4000, 5000 attendance that you’re not going to get, it’s foolish. But that’s the reality.”
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