Pittodrie postponement explained, Tavernier avoids red card at Ibrox | OneFootball

Fourth official Greg Soutar has said the decision to postpone the Aberdeen versus Celtic fixture was made with player welfare as the overriding priority. Later at Ibrox David Dickinson failed to send off James Tavernier…

The Pittodrie pitch this afternoon. Aberdeen v Celtic has been postponed following a pitch inspection. Photo Chris Sutton

Following an inspection of a problematic section inside one of the penalty boxes, Soutar determined the pitch conditions were unsafe, with the turf breaking up into soft mud which would ultimately fail to hold players’ footing.

The surface was also affecting the movement of the ball, which was failing to bounce properly in that area.

After conducting his assessment at 4pm, Soutar opted to postpone the 8pm kick-off, which had been due to be broadcast live by Sky Sports.

However, the Scottish FA official has insisted that calling off the match was the only sensible decision in the interests of player safety.

Pittodrie. Aberdeen 1-5 Celtic. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Speaking via Sky Sports, Soutar said: “There was an area of concern raised at the bottom end within the penalty area. I have went down there and had a look at that.”

“There is extremely soft mud, it is moving when you put studs in it. There is concern for the player safety when they are running in that the boot will just slip, it is not taking studs.”

“The ball is also not bouncing in that area, and all that taken into consideration the player safety is paramount to this decision and I just couldn’t ensure that.”

When questioned if it was an easy decision to call the game off, Soutar added: “I had a look at it. It is not one that I thought was in doubt; it was a fairly straightforward decision in respect of player safety.”

There is still uncertainty over whether Aberdeen’s Scottish Cup defence against Motherwell at Pittodrie on Saturday evening will go ahead, as the region continues to face severe winter weather. The North-east has endured persistent heavy rain and snowfall since the start of the year.

A view of Celtic Park Celtic v Falkirk, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 01 February 2026. Photo Mark Runnacles IMAGO / Shutterstock

Celtic are back in action this weekend against Dundee at Celtic Park in the Scottish Cup, which is the match that is the subject of a boycott call from the Celtic Fans Collective as protests against the Celtic Board intensify.

The Dens Park club also had their game postponed against Motherwell with that decision taken much earlier in the day which would have been of great assistance to the Motherwell fans planning on going to the match.

Meanwhile at Ibrox theRangers beat Kilmarnock 5-1 in a game that saw James Tavernier avoid a red card for pretty much the same offence as Auston Trusty was dismissed for at Tynecastle and had his appeal to the Scottish FA rejected – theRangers supporting referee David Dickinson waved play on and there was no intervention by Chris Graham on VAR.

Usually it’s only Celtic supporters who highlight these instances of what appears to be regular assistance given to the latest Ibrox club from biased match officials. This time around though it’s somewhat different as Hearts have a direct interest in the destination of the title.

They have to go to Ibrox shortly and should be preparing themselves for more of the same. The time to speak up is NOW!

Conor Spence

Celtic in the Thirties by Matt Corr. Click on image to order

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