Scottish Premiership fixture card set to be decimated as five teams request postponements

The games involving Celtic and Rangers on the weekend of August 23 will be rescheduled, as both teams will have a match on the continent the midweek before and midweek afterwards, while matches that include Hearts, Hibs and Motherwell may also be affected.

As was the case last season, clubs involved in the play-offs of a UEFA competition have the right to postpone their Premiership round three fixture without the need for the agreement of their opponents.

This policy was approved by the Scottish Professional Football League board in April 2025 to support clubs aiming to reach the league phase of UEFA competitions. The deadline for 2026/27 was this Friday and SPFL has confirmed that all five clubs competing in Europe this season - Celtic, Hearts, Rangers, Motherwell and Hibs - have requested a postponement of their league fixture.

This means that St Johnstone v Celtic and Rangers v St Mirren are immediately postponed. Celtic will be involved in a Champions League play-off, while Rangers will compete in either the Europa League or Conference League play-offs.

Hearts’ match away at Falkirk will also fall by the wayside should they be eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers. The Jambos are 4-0 down from the first leg against Austrian side Sturm Graz and if the fail to overturn the deficit at Tynecastle, then they are guaranteed either a Europa League or Conference League play-off.

Hibs and Motherwell are both in the second qualifying round of the Conference League and would need to navigate their current ties to invoke postponements of their matches against Kilmarnock and Aberdeen respectively.

Hibs trail Malisheva 2-0 from the first leg of their match, while Motherwell take a two-goal lead to the Faroe Islands next week when they play HB Torshavn. Should Hibs progress, then they play either NK Bravo or KF Shkendija in the third qualifying round, while Motherwell would play the winner of HJK Helsinki or Coleraine.

The impacted Premiership matches will be rescheduled for either the exclusive Champions League midweek (September 8/9) or the exclusive Europa League midweek (September 15/16), with details to be published following the UEFA league phase draws at the end of August.

The SPFL has also announced that Dundee United v Dundee on matchday three will be played on Saturday, August 22 with a 5.45pm kick-off. It will be broadcast live on Premier Sports.