Aberdeen will receive half of the tickets for the Betfred Cup semi-final with Rangers – but only if sales are strong on an initial allocation of 16,800.
The club today hit out at the SPFL decision for the match at Hampden against Rangers on Sunday October 28.
A Dons statement read: “For such a high-profile game, and to maintain sporting integrity at a neutral ground, we believe tickets should be allocated on an even split basis, offering both sets of supporters access to the (Hampden) North Stand and the club has fought hard to argue this point with the SPFL in recent days when the initial plan indicated we would not receive North Stand tickets.
“We have this evening been notified by the SPFL that we will be given access to seats in the North Stand BUT ONLY if we exhibit strong sales figures from our initial allocation in the East and South Stands. This will essentially mean an initial allocation of 16,800 tickets with access to a further 4,400 in the North Stand should we demonstrate strong ticket sales. This would result in a 50/50 split of Hampden.”
Aberdeen FC chief executive Duncan Fraser said: “Given the fantastic travelling support we have as a club we feel it is imperative all our fans are offered the opportunity to enjoy this football spectacle from some of the best seats in the stadium.
“We do not agree with the manner in which the club are being asked to sell the tickets as we know there are a significant number of supporters who would wish to purchase seats in the North Stand from the start.
“I would call on all of our fans to purchase their tickets early and prove our desire to make the east end of Hampden a sea of red and white for Derek and the team to walk out to. This will be a tremendous opportunity for Aberdeen FC to play a leading role in the country’s biggest ‘Super Sunday’ for years and a great footballing occasion for all involved.”
The clash has already been the subject of much controversy, both semis initially scheduled for the national stadium on the same day, with the Reds-Gers game taking place at noon.
After anger from the club, fans and concerns from bodies including the police, the match will now kick-off at 4.30pm, with Celtic-Hearts moved to 1.30pm at Murrayfield.
This game had initially been scheduled for 7.45pm.