Scottish sides in Europe opt to postpone league matches

What the report says

BBC Sport Football reports that Scotland’s five clubs involved in European competition have chosen to delay Scottish Premiership fixtures that were due to be played on Saturday, 22 August, where their European play-off commitments apply. The affected weekend falls between the two legs of qualifying play-offs in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.

Celtic, Heart of Midlothian and Rangers are already assured of taking part in that play-off phase, though Hearts and Rangers still have uncertainty over which tournament they will be in. Celtic, the Premiership champions, are awaiting their Champions League play-off opponent. Hearts trail Sturm Graz 4-0 in a Champions League second-round qualifier and are expected, if eliminated, to move into Europa League qualifying. Rangers have been paired with Jagiellonia Bialystok of Poland in Europa League qualifying.

Motherwell and Hibernian could also have league games moved, but only if they make the Conference League play-offs. Motherwell lead HB of the Faroe Islands 2-0 after the first leg of their second-round tie, while Hibernian are 2-0 down against Malisheva of Kosovo.

The postponements follow a rule change introduced in April 2025, which BBC Sport says allows a Scottish club playing in Europe to postpone a league match without needing agreement from the opposing side. Falkirk v Hearts, Rangers v St Mirren and St Johnstone v Celtic are already postponed. Hibernian v Kilmarnock and Motherwell v Aberdeen remain conditional on European progress, while Dundee United v Dundee is still scheduled to go ahead. Rearranged fixtures are expected in midweek slots on 8/9 or 15/16 September.