Old Firm match postponed by SPL

[vRS]

Wednesday's Old Firm match has been postponed as a mark of respect following the death of Motherwell captain Phil O'Donnell.

O'Donnell died after collapsing during Saturday's match against Dundee United.

The Scottish Premier League decided to postpone the game following a request by O'Donnell's former club Celtic.

SPL secretary Iain Blair said: "These are never easy decisions. But we recognise that as a former player, Phil was part of Celtic's extended family."

Blair said Celtic requested for the game to be postponed on Monday morning.

"After consultation with Rangers we agreed to postpone the Old Firm fixture on 2 January," he added.

A date has yet to be set for the game to be played.



These things happen my only problem with it is that the decision should have been made on Saturday evening.

[WeeJoe]

was kinda thinking this would happen. like vrs said suprised it took this long

[hibby1875]

Same here, said this yesterday and the right thing to do IMO.

But why the delay by the SPL? They've made themselves look a bit foolish here (not for the first time). :o

[WeeJoe]

apparently they were waiting for an official request for postponement. that didnt happen until first thing this morning when the request came in from celtic. they then had to consult rangers and then make announcement. personally i thought the sfa or spl or whoever it is wouldve cancelled it themselves.

[hibby1875]

apparently they were waiting for an official request for postponement. that didnt happen until first thing this morning when the request came in from celtic. they then had to consult rangers and then make announcement. personally i thought the sfa or spl or whoever it is wouldve cancelled it themselves.

Exactly. They're always quick to make unsupported decisions, then when it comes to a situation like this where the fans would understand their reasoning (as long as it was done with plenty of notice), they fanny about and wait for 'requests' and 'confirmation'. :confused:

[saintdice]

this is great for me since i wasn't going to be able to make it to the pub. hopefully i can make it for the rescheduled date.

[pigman]

with three games off sureklt hte fitting thing wouldve been to postpone the whole card? three games still going ahead

dons v caley
dundee utd vs farts
killie v falkirk

[vRS]

Devastated, angry, distraught, alone - Phil O'Donnell's family will be experiencing all of these emotions.

They had stolen from them a husband, a father, a son and a friend. It's all scandalously unfair.

Just as I did when my son Keith was taken seven years ago, they now will wonder why the world continues to revolve - why it hasn't stopped in its tracks, how people can possibly go about their business as normal.

Ultimately, of course, life goes on because it has to, because - when all is said and done - there is no alternative.

Only this time it was about to proceed with too much haste.

In the end they got it right, but how could it have taken so long to arrive at the decision to postpone the Old Firm match?

While the decision-makers dithered - and at one point were seemingly about to carry on regardless - they insulted the memory of Phil and showed an alarming absence of compassion towards his family.

It didn't do much for the dignity of the game, either.

It was fine, it seemed, to postpone matches for the cause of the national team and for nursing Rangers' hopes in Europe.

But as a mark of respect to a footballer who was a thoroughly decent bloke and who died in the most dramatic of circumstances?

No, sorry, carry on regardless.

But, in the end, common sense won the day for the sake of a distraught widow and four kids who will never see their dad again.

Forget your conspiracy theories. Bin your alternative agendas.

Gordon Strachan was initially reluctant to call for the postponement of the fixture.

He sensed that there would be those who would point the finger at Celtic and say that they were only making the request because of injuries and suspension - that here was a perfect way out for them.

I questioned the manager, suggesting that surely even in these bitter times there would not be those in the west of Scotland who would be so downright twisted.

But sadly he's probably right.

Strachan and Walter Smith both wanted the game off while others procrastinated.

In the end it wasn't just the right decision, it was the only one.

The real curiosity was that three other fixtures in the SPL and games at a lower level remained in the diary.

How, in particular, can the players of Dundee United who witnessed this horror unfold before their eyes, be ready to kick a ball again?

I don't think this has done much for the image of our game. It has scarred its beautiful face a little.

Compassion first, commerce in its wake.

The decision to postpone should never have taken so long.

Death is an evil business at the best of times, but the circumstances and the timing of Phil's passing were just horrific.

It will take a long time for his family to get over what has happened here

The Motherwell players will take a lot of nursing although I just wish the rest of the game could have acted with the dignity of their manager.

Mark McGhee has been a class act in all of this.

They will play again when they are ready and when they do they will be ripped apart by emotion.

But it is a step they will have to take.

Meanwhile, if you were inconvenienced by the postponement of a football match then you will just have to live with it.

And if you're moaning about it then go and have a look in the mirror.

The game will be played another day. Those kids won't see their dad again.



Chick Young's view.

[dryan]

celtic love being the victim

dundee utd should have had their game postponed and the battle of the bigots should have went ahead.

[buckfast_kid]

any word on the reshedule?

[hibby1875]

celtic love being the victim

dundee utd should have had their game postponed and the battle of the bigots should have went ahead.

7 posts in over 2 years - obviously takes you 3 months to create a sentence and you still manage to come up with utter shite. :mad:

The whole card probably should have been called off, but there was still fair reason for the OF derby postponement and using it for a jibe at Celtic/Rangers (or any club) is pretty low and as smallminded as any 'bigot'.

Why do you give such a fuck anyway?

Piss off back into your hole, idiot.

[dryan]

Go back to supporting Celtic and leave the real Hibs fans alone thanks

[vRS]

Go back to supporting Celtic and leave the real Hibs fans alone thanks

What SPl team do you support?

[dryan]

Hibs.

[hibby1875]

Hibs.

LOL! :p

[jimmy]

dundee utd to win today at mordor.

[Seany463]

Linkage (http://www.scotprem.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10002~1210570,00.html)
Celtic vs Rangers
Now: 23/01/08 KO: 1945
Live on Setanta Sports

Motherwell vs Celtic
Now: 30/01/08 KO: 1945
Live on Setanta Sports

Hibernian vs Motherwell
Now: 05/03/08 KO: 1945

Gretna vs St Mirren
Now: 11/03/08 KO: 1945

[hibby1875]

5th March for the Hibs game? That's some postponement, although I'm not complaining. Maybe we'll have a new manager by then and have a decent chance of winning it. :)