Where to stage the semi-final? Venue opinion splits city

CITY leaders today called for Murrayfield to be used as the venue for the Scottish Cup semi-final between Hearts and Hibs.

The Capital's arch rivals were hoping to avoid each other until the final but have been paired for a tie scheduled to take place at Hampden Park in Glasgow on April 1 or 2.

But Lord Provost Lesley Hinds is today leading calls for the match to be played at the city's Murrayfield Stadium to avoid the problem of getting 50,000 people from the Capital to Glasgow.

Rugby bosses are also understood to be keen on the move, which would allow an extra 15,000 fans to see the game because Murrayfield has a bigger capacity than Hampden.

But some residents in Murrayfield are worried about the prospect of nearly 70,000 football fans coming to the area.

Transport chiefs say the rail and road networks between the two cites could cope if the game goes ahead at Hampden.

Councillor Hinds, who has already approached Lothian and Borders Chief Constable Paddy Tomkins over the prospect of the showdown being staged in Edinburgh, said: "It makes real sense to play the game in Edinburgh for a number of reasons.

"The main one is that it would allow more supporters to see the game, as Murrayfield has a much bigger capacity.

"It would also avoid all the supporters having to go through to Glasgow and the pressure that would put on the roads and railways.

"Murrayfield is used to holding big events and the stadium is going to be available."

She added: "It'll depend largely on the views of the clubs and their supporters, but I think there's a large groundswell of opinion forming among people in Edinburgh for the game to be staged here.

"I've had an informal discussion with the chief constable about this issue and I would say the police would support the case for the game to be held in Edinburgh.

"They would still have a major operation to deal with if the game was in Glasgow, but it would be so much easier for people if it was held here, and also much more affordable. Thousands of people would be able to walk to Murrayfield, as they do when the rugby is on."

But warnings were today sounded that Hibs fans would oppose moves to stage the clash at Murrayfield because their rival side are used to playing European matches at the ground, which Hibbies might believe gives them an unfair advantage.

Former Lord Provost and staunch Hearts fan Eric Milligan, who is also head of the police board, said: "I would be delighted if both clubs agreed that Murrayfield would be a better arena for the semi-final than Hampden.

"There are two issues though: firstly, the SFA does have a Glasgow bias, so they would need to be persuaded that the match could be played outside Glasgow.

"Also, I think that while the Hearts tribe would probably think it was a great idea to play it at Murrayfield, the Hibs fans might not agree, since because Hearts play their European games there, it is very close to being a home game for them."
Football chiefs are facing mounting calls to move the Scottish Cup semi final from Hampden to Murrayfield.

Football chiefs are facing mounting calls to move the Scottish Cup semi final from Hampden to Murrayfield.

On the security issue, Mr Milligan added: "There's no doubt that the people living in the surrounding area of Murrayfield have grown accustomed to the rugby crowds gathering in huge numbers. It's a different thing when it's football supporters. But I would be confident that the police would be able to deal with that."

City council leader Donald Anderson also backed the call. "It would be great if it could take place at Murrayfield, which is the best sports stadium in Scotland."

And he said on the evidence of recent derby matches holding the match at Murrayfield should not mean any serious problems for residents in the area.

"There has not been any significant amount of violence at recent derby matches and the last game at Tynecastle was handled by the police in such a way there was no real trouble."

Business leaders are also keen to keep the match in the Capital so traders can take advantage of the economic spin-off.

Graham Bell, of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: "We would back that plan absolutely 100 per cent. It makes absolute sense to have a Hibs/Hearts semi-final in Edinburgh and no sense to have it in Glasgow.

"It would be of enormous benefit financially to the city and it's an event that would get a decent football crowd into Murrayfield.

"It would be a fantastic occasion for Edinburgh and it would allow Edinburgh to own the occasion.

"The Old Firm have dominated for so long, so if Edinburgh gets the opportunity to take centre-stage, it should be allowed to do so."

Senior police are understood to have no objection to staging the game in Edinburgh because the Lothian and Borders force is well used to managing large crowds for rugby internationals and concerts at Murrayfield.

If Scottish Football Association officials decide against moving the tie to Edinburgh, fans will need to travel to Glasgow by road or rail.

A spokesman for First ScotRail said it is likely that extra carriages and segregated queuing systems in and around Waverley and Haymarket stations would be introduced to help get fans to Glasgow for the game.

But the train operator said they would stop short of designating Waverley Station for Hibs fans and Haymarket for Hearts fans to keep supporters apart.

The spokesman said: "We are working closely with British Transport Police and other parties about the travel arrangements for supporters but we will have to wait and see what happens before formalising our plans."

Having thousands of Hearts and Hibs fans travelling to Glasgow by train would make Central and Queen Street stations - and Waverley and Haymarket in Edinburgh - practically no-go areas for other passengers. Neil Greig, head of policy at the AA, said: "The golden age of the football specials might be behind us but I would imagine that extra rail services would have to be laid on to cope with the increase in demand.

"The M8 cannot cope with everyday demand, let alone an event like this. However, with the right level of planning I am sure that both stadiums will cope because they have held many big sporting events before."

Despite the city fathers' push for the cup tie to be held in Edinburgh, householders living close to Murrayfield Stadium are less keen.

David Daulby, secretary of Murrayfield Community Council, said he had concerns about the semi-final being staged at the home of Scottish rugby.

He said: "We would not be too happy about that - most people don't like the football being played there. It's caused problems in the past. It's a different kind of crowd from a rugby crowd.

"The rugby crowd comes in and goes away again quite quickly. But they [the football crowds] are a bit noisier. I know that the residents in that area are not happy about the idea."

Roseburn Crescent resident and mother-of-two Karen Smith, 44, added:

"It can be very scary when there's a football game on here. You get people smashing windows, vomiting everywhere and climbing into gardens to do the toilet."

But the police today remained tight-lipped about the Lord Provost's approach to the chief constable about the match.

A police spokesman said: "We will enter into discussions with the teams, the SFA and other relevant parties about this fixture."

Taken from the Scotsman