Celtic Anger Over Monday Night Title Defence Opener
Celtic will begin their Scottish Premiership title defence on a Monday night – and the champions are far from happy about it.
The club have publicly criticised the decision to schedule their opener against Dundee for 3 August at 19:30 BST, after being told there was “no choice” but to move the game away from the traditional weekend slot.
The fixture has been pushed because Glasgow’s sporting and entertainment calendar is jammed. The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games bring cycling events to the Sir Chris Hoy Arena, which sits right next to Celtic Park, across the weekend of 1 and 2 August. At the same time, Calvin Harris is set to play two major concerts at Hampden on those same dates.
Celtic say they made “repeated representations” to the SPFL and Police Scotland in an effort to secure a weekend date, arguing that the status of the match and the needs of both sets of supporters demanded it. Their view is clear: a season-opening home game for the champions should not be shunted to a Monday night unless there is absolutely no alternative.
The club added that, once it became clear they would not get a weekend slot, they at least negotiated an earlier evening kick-off to ease the burden on fans travelling from Ireland, a core part of their support who now face a midweek-style trip for the first game of the season.
While Celtic are left bristling, the rest of the opening round has kept its place in the spotlight. All six fixtures on the first weekend will be shown live on television as the 2026-27 campaign kicks off with Dundee United hosting Rangers on Friday 31 July at 20:00.
Fixtures
- Hearts vs. Aberdeen - Saturday at 17:30
- Falkirk vs. St Mirren - Saturday at 15:00
The champions, though, will have to wait. A title defence that many expected to begin amid the noise and colour of a packed Saturday at Celtic Park will instead start under Monday night lights, squeezed into a city schedule where football, for once, has had to give way.
