Referee Dickinson will inspect surface on Saturday morning as league fears calendar conundrum
If Dundee’s Premiership match against Motherwell is to go ahead as scheduled, the pitch at Dens Park will need to pass an inspection on Saturday morning.
Tayside has seen a lot of rain this week, so even though the Dees have hired pitch experts and borrowed Celtic covers, there are still doubts about whether the game can take place at Dens Park. Given that all pre-split matches must be finished by the weekend of April 13, there is not much time to locate a new date for the encounter; Airdrie’s Excelsior Stadium has been suggested as one possible location. Dundee may have to find another venue. The Rangers vs. Dundee game is scheduled to take place at Dens Park on Wednesday night postponed last month due to a waterlogged pitch
On Saturday at 11 a.m., match referee David Dickinson will inspect the pitch to see if play can resume. Motherwell’s new CEO, Brian Caldwell, disclosed that the Scottish Professional League has developed a number of alternate options, some of which he called “nuts.” Motherwell is aware of the situation. He stated that delaying some of the post-split games would be the Steelmen’s choice. It is acknowledged that the SPFL is hesitant to comply for fear of creating a nightmare for the calendar.
The SPFL is particularly excited for us to play this weekend, according to Caldwell. Several situations have been presented to us. One of them stated that we would play the game on Sunday if it was off on Saturday, and on Monday if it was off on Sunday.
On the football side of things, that is not realistic. Another thing that drives me crazy is that we perform it at Airdrie behind closed doors. We have to take care of our own followers since we are a spectator sport. Make sure they’re at the game, please. Therefore, we have made our position quite clear to the SPFL. It’s not our fault, and there’s nothing to it to do with this football club, so why should we have the hassle of it all?
“We have made it plain that we will either play on Saturday at Dens or reschedule the match for a later time. If this means delaying the post-split fixtures, then so be it. Playing behind closed doors is absurd, and if it is made required of us, I believe we will refuse to comply. Since that it is not currently our problem but is quickly becoming one, I believe Scottish football will stand with us. Regretfully, I am pretty outspoken about it because it is wrong, and I will speak up if something in football is wrong.
The Dundee vs. Motherwell Premiership match is still set for Saturday at 3pm at Dens Park. The match referee will assess the pitch tomorrow at 11am to make sure it is still playable. This was said in a statement released by the SPFL on Friday. We have been preparing several backup plans to guarantee that the match takes place in the upcoming days. We sincerely sympathise with Motherwell and its supporters, who bear no responsibility for the current state of affairs; nonetheless, given the looming separation, the fixture list must be completed. We’re still in communication with both teams, and after the pitch inspection on Saturday, we’ll bring you an update.
Dundee are currently sixth in the Premiership, a point ahead of Hibs in seventh, with Motherwell sitting eighth in the table, six points behind the Dee.