The Scottish Football Association (SFA) has confirmed that Celtic will face East Kilbride in a Scottish Cup fifth round tie at the Excelsior Stadium on 7th February.
East Kilbride, who play in the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system, were told by the police that their K Park ground was unsuitable to host a game against a club of Celtic’s stature if they indeed managed to set up a meeting with the Hoops in the domestic cup competition.
The minnows indeed progressed in the Scottish Cup and come up against Celtic by beating Lothian Hutchison 2-0 last week, while Ronny Deila’s team were already waiting in the fifth round, following their 3-0 win over Stranraer earlier in the month.
As a result, the SFA announced that the match will take place at New Douglas Park, the home ground of Premiership club Hamilton Academical.
But the Lowland League outfit questioned the decision as New Douglas Park was their seventh choice on a wish list they had handed to the SFA.
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Consequently, Hamilton issued a statement on Monday stating that they had “no intention” of hosting the match.
And after pondering over the matter for a day, the SFA announced that the Excelsior Stadium will now stage the Scottish Cup fifth round tie between East Kilbride and Celtic.
The stadium is the home ground of League One club Airdrieonians.
