Scottish Cup final to take place five days before Christmas

Last season’s delayed Scottish Cup will be concluded five days before Christmas.

The showpiece final will take place at Hampden on Sunday, December 20.

Before that, Celtic will first take on Aberdeen, while Hearts will meet Hibs in the semi-finals on the weekend of October 31.

Both of those ties will also take place at Hampden, having been postponed from April due to the coronavirus-enforced football shutdown.

Celtic are aiming to win a fourth successive Scottish Cup, which would see them complete four trebles in a row.

Scottish FA chief Executive Ian Maxwell said: “It has always been our intention to play the tournament to a finish and while the impact of COVID-19 has dramatically altered the schedule, we are confident that the final will be a unique and memorable showpiece event during the Christmas holidays.”

Key changes to the cup competition rules have been agreed for the remaining fixtures in the competition.

These include players who have previously played for another team during the 2019/20 competition will not be cup-tied.

Additionally, clubs will be allowed to use five substitutes, as per the changes to the laws of the game agreed by the International Football Association Board.