A UNITED determination to avoid a repeat of the crowd trouble at last week’s Aberdeen versus Rangers match at Pittodrie prompted the Scottish Football Association and the Scottish Premier League to tackle the issue head-on yesterday.

The SFA switched the forthcoming Aberdeen-Celtic tie in the quarter-finals of the Tennent’s Scottish Cup from a Saturday evening to a Monday evening, while the SPL announced it will appoint a panel of legal experts to investigate the Pittodrie incident.

Referee Mike McCurry took the players off the pitch for 20 minutes after Aberdeen striker Robbie Winters was hit by a coin during the 19 January encounter. The incident sparked a small pitch invasion by Aberdeen supporters before police and stewards calmed the crowd.

The switch of the cup tie away from Saturday 23 February to Monday 25 February - it will be screened live by Sky Sports Television, kick-off 7.45pm - is designed to minimise potential trouble. For a start, a Monday evening kick-off will reduce the amount of supporters who can spend all day drinking.

‘There will be a commission set up to deal with events at the Aberdeenv Rangers game’ - SPL spokesman ALEX BARR

The decision has been condemned by supporters’ groups, mainly because of the inconvenience caused to law-abiding supporters who will struggle to attend the match because of work commitments, but the need to nip potential trouble in the bud is overwhelming.

That is the short-term fix. The longer term will see professional expertise called in to fully uncover what went on at Pittodrie. SPL chief executive Roger Mitchell chaired a board meeting at Hampden yesterday, where it was agreed that the league’s governing body would pursue a policy similar to that which followed the Old Firm match on 2 May 1999, when referee Hugh Dallas was struck by a coin as Rangers secured the title at Celtic Park for the first time.

The acrimony and violence witnessed in Aberdeen ten days ago was the worst inside a Scottish football ground since that day in Glasgow, when dozens of people were arrested after a series of attempts to invade the field, and when rivals fans clashed outside the ground.

The review body will consist of "four or five" individuals, who will be recruited in the coming weeks, the SPL’s official spokesman, Alex Barr, confirmed last night.

"The board decided that there will be a commission set up to deal with the events at the Aberdeen-Rangers game," said Barr. "It will be chaired by an independent legal figure in the same way as the 2 May inquiry into the events of the Old Firm game at Parkhead.

"As yet the make-up of the commission has not been determined, and you will probably be looking at months, rather than weeks, given that the people concerned will have extremely busy diaries and all the necessary evidence has to be gathered."

The 1999 panel was chaired by Lord Mackay of Drumadoon, and included Lex Gold, the current SPL chairman and director of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, and William Stewart, a partner of law firm Messers/McMillan. They ruled that Rangers did not break any SPL rules by inflaming opposing fans with a mock "huddle" that day.

This came after an SPL panel including Mitchell and former chairman Robert Wilson fined Celtic £45,000 for their part in the trouble, concluding that the club’s backroom staff did not sufficiently convey to their players the need to behave well.

Celtic’s Stephane Mahe had furiously pursued Dallas after being sent off, sparking a series of incidents that led to his team-mate, Vidar Riseth, and Rangers striker Rod Wallace following him down the tunnel.

Thankfully, the romance of the cup has not been entirely extinguished by security concerns. Forfar chairman David McGregor last night expressed his delight that his club’s quarter-final tie with Rangers had been chosen by BBC for live transmission next month.

While Sky has opted to show the Aberdeen versus Celtic match, the BBC will broadcast live from Station Park for the very first time in what is set to prove a generous pay day for the Angus club.

Forfar will slip back into the black for the first time in seven years with the gate receipts from the tie alone, to be played on Sunday, 24 February, kick-off 3pm, but now hope to make over £100,000 when sponsorship and television revenues are collated.

"As you can imagine, we are all thrilled," said McGregor, who had agreed to move the tie to Sunday afternoon even before the BBC announced its plans to televise the game live. Due to Rangers being on UEFA Cup duty against Feyenoord on the Thursday preceding the Scottish Cup match, the Ibrox club had asked for the game to be put back a day.

With only 2,500 tickets going to Rangers supporters, BBC officials made the decision to show a tie that promises to be an intriguing contest, with the two clubs having met at the semi-final stage of the Scottish Cup 20 years ago. After a goal-less draw in the fist game, Rangers prevailed in the replay 3-1.

"It was going to be a great occasion anyway, but the presence of live television cameras just adds to it all," said McGregor, a Forfar fan all his life. While he was adamant that the tie should be played at the 4,600-capacity Station Park, he did not seek to minimise the importance of the financial aspect to the tie.

"We are hoping to make over £100,000, which for a club like this is an incredible sum," said McGregor.

"We have not made much out of the football side of things in recent years, and so this is a real bonus. Never mind the romance, for Forfar the cup is all about money."

Taken from the Scotsman