Aberdeen unhappy as SPFL reveals ticket split for Viaplay Cup final against Rangers

The Scottish Professional Football League has announced the ticketing details for next month’s Viaplay Cup final between Rangers and Aberdeen, with the Pittodrie club unhappy at not being given an even share.

The teams meet at Hampden Park on December 17 to contest the first silverware of the season and supporters of both clubs are keen to get their hands on tickets for the showpiece final.

Discussions were held with both clubs and the relevant authorities before a final decision was made on the split of tickets, with Rangers allocated 5,500 more tickets than their rivals.

The Ibrox club has been granted 25,000 seats across the south, north and west stands, while Aberdeen have been allocated 19,500 tickets and will be in the south and east stands.

Ticket prices have been kept the same as last season, with additional concessionary prices in the north and south stands.

An SPFL spokesperson said: “Firstly, we would like to congratulate both Rangers and Aberdeen for reaching the final of the Viaplay Cup after two fantastic semi-finals.

“Deciding ticketing allocations for cup finals is always a challenging task, as more fans invariably want to attend than the stadium can accommodate.

“We take a range of factors into consideration, including the number of tickets each club sells in the semi-finals, as well as their historic ticket sales in any previous League Cup finals and semi-finals.

“In addition, the design of the stadium and its ability to split sections is a major factor which influences our decisions, together with input from safety and security authorities to ensure fan safety and appropriate segregation.”

The organisers say the Aberdeen allocation is broadly the same as the club received for the final against Celtic in 2018/19 but the Pittodrie club has made their feelings clear, saying they wanted an even split.

A club statement read: “The club robustly put its case to the SPFL to treat both teams fairly with an even share of tickets, given Hampden is a neutral venue and, as such, presented an option that would split the allocation for the match evenly between both competing finalists.

“The proposal suggested AFC hold back five sections on the east side of the north stand, selling them to Dons supporters should demand require it. If, however, by an agreed date it was clear that wasn’t going to be the case, the tickets could then be allocated to our opponents in plenty of time in which to sell them.

“Much to our extreme disappointment and frustration, this proposal was rejected by the SPFL, who cited operational challenges and attendances at previous semi finals/finals as the principal reasons for their determination.

“As a result, Aberdeen will have up to 19,500 tickets covering the south stand (lower and upper sections) and the east stand.

“We are pleased to confirm that, following our request and as agreed by Rangers FC, concession tickets will be available in all stands. In previous games at Hampden, only Dons fans sitting behind the goal (either east or west stands) would’ve been able to take advantage of this category, which didn’t give families much flexibility on where they could watch the match. This has been rectified for this forthcoming final.

“We look forward to selling every single ticket we have, ensuring a large, noisy Red Army for our first final in five years.”