Murrayfield would welcome capital derby

STUART BATHGATE
CHIEF SPORTS WRITER

THE Scottish Rugby Union would welcome any application to host a Scottish Cup semi-final between Hearts and Hibs, a spokesman for rugby’s governing body said yesterday. With both clubs facing home quarter-final ties this weekend the issue is still hypothetical, but awareness in the city of a potential last-four clash is growing, and there would be overwhelming support for keeping the tie in Edinburgh.

Murrayfield is the only suitable neutral venue in the capital, and, having already hosted three Hearts UEFA Cup ties this season, the SRU would be happy to welcome football back. "We’d be delighted to host the match if we were approached," the SRU spokesman confirmed.

With a substantial debt to address, the SRU is keen to make more use of its 67,800-capacity stadium. The normal caveat is that it is happy to accommodate other sports provided Scottish rugby does not suffer.

The cup semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, 9 and 10 April. The fact that Edinburgh’s Celtic League match against the Dragons is due to be televised live on Setanta from Murrayfield at 5.30pm on the Saturday lessens the room for manoeuvre, but, with a potential crowd of around 50,000 for a Hibs-Hearts match, there is sure to be a substantial willingness to reach an accommodation with football.

Meanwhile, deliberations over the next week by the Hearts board could decide where they play any home ties in European competition over the next few years. Speaking to a meeting of the Save Our Hearts campaign group on Wednesday night, the club’s interim chief executive Sergejus Fedotovas said it would require more than the planned redevelopment of the main stand to make the Tynecastle pitch UEFA-compliant.

"There are possibilities to redevelop the pitch to meet UEFA requirements," Fedotovas said. "But we would have to redevelop a bigger part of the stadium for that."

The Hearts board will meet next week to decide the exact nature of the main-stand redevelopment.

Fedotovas said he remained committed to parting company with Chris Robinson in the near future. The former chief executive is still on the board, but Fedotovas explained that was for a transitional period only. "We are doing everything possible to bring that change [the removal of Robinson] on board as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, Hearts head coach John Robertson will find out this today if he is to be punished by UEFA for allegedly kicking Ferencvaros coach Laszlo Csaba after a UEFA Cup clash in December.

Taken from the Scotsman