Rangers' trip to Dundee in the Scottish Premiership has been rearranged for April 10, live on Sky Sports; SPFL are investigating after the game was the subject of a late postponement on March 17; the new fixture takes place three days after a key Old Firm match at Ibrox
Wednesday 20 March 2024 18:35, UK
Rangers will head to Dens Park on April 10 for their rearranged game against Dundee, after the initial fixture was postponed less than two hours before kick-off.
The match will be live on Sky Sports, with kick-off at 8pm, and comes three days after a key Old Firm clash - also live on Sky Sports - as Celtic and Rangers battle it out for the Scottish Premiership title.
Philippe Clement's side are a point behind Celtic - having played a game less - and then face Ross County on April 14, also live on Sky Sports, before the league splits into a top and bottom half.
Dundee are in their own race to make that top-six cut, and currently trail Hibernian by two points - albeit with a game in hand - and face Motherwell then Aberdeen either side of the rearranged game against Rangers.
The decision to postpone the original match is being investigated by the SPFL after a fourth call off this season at Dens Park.
Match official Robertson told Sky Sports the main concern involved an area in front of one of the dugouts, which had been treated with sand but was still too waterlogged to be deemed safe.
"I was aware Dundee and the ground staff were working very hard on that specific area of the pitch as well as others causing them concern," he said.
"But unfortunately, what they've been able to do hasn't been enough to make the area safe for the players and that's the primary consideration in these matters. I know they've got a lot of sand, tried to remove some of the water, but it wasn't safe at 10.15am so unfortunately it's been postponed.
"We're guided by the home club in this situation. They will have first sight of the pitch, they arrived this morning and saw areas of concern and contacted the league and the Scottish FA.
"A local official came to do a primary pitch inspection, but it was agreed between the clubs and the SPFL that they would wait until 10.15am to conduct the final inspection of the pitch."
In a strongly-worded statement on their website, Rangers claimed they had not been informed of any potential issues with the playing surface at Dens Park until Sunday morning, and questioned why they had not been raised sooner.
"Rangers, on behalf of our supporters, are extremely disappointed and angered with the late call-off of today's match," they wrote.
"The first team have prepared as normal for the match, and it was not until this morning that any concerns over the playing surface were raised.
"It is not understood why the home club did not raise those concerns in a more timely manner, given the reoccurring issues they have had with their playing surface at earlier points in the season.
"The Rangers team and thousands of our supporters had already arrived at the stadium by the time a decision was reached.
"This is the only match in the entire UK senior leagues to be postponed this weekend, and given it was to be shown on Sky Sports nationwide, reflects poorly on our game."
Rangers manager Philippe Clement told Sky Sports:
"I'm very, very, very disappointed in many ways. We didn't know anything that there was a problem, nobody contacted us, not yesterday evening, not overnight or this morning. Our kit man was here early and he told us there was the problem.
"That's a really strange thing for me. Secondly, I think it will be the only game in all the leagues in Scotland postponed [today]. That's a crazy situation. If you are playing in the Scottish Premiership, you should be playing with the highest standards and the best pitches also.
"The television pays a lot of money to broadcast it, fans pay a lot of money to attend, and now the game is postponed - it's a really strange situation."
Dundee owner John Nelms told Sky Sports:
"We're supposed to be one of the most robust leagues in the world, the ball is rolling, we've had guys out here since 5am. Mother Nature's done what she's done, we've done everything we could to get this pitch in the right place.
"There are two small spots where the ball isn't bouncing, as we speak. The rest of the pitch is fine, they said they don't think we'll be able to get it playable before 12pm, so that's where we're at."
Dundee return to Scottish Premiership action after the international break at home to St Johnstone on March 30, while Rangers face Hibs at Ibrox. Both games kick off at 3pm.
