Scottish Cup: Morton chief questions games going ahead amid bad weather
- Published
Warren Hawke fears some Morton fans may not have received their tickets in time
Greenock Morton's chief executive has called for all four Scottish Cup quarter-finals to be postponed because of the weather.
The Scottish FA say "there are no plans to call off" Celtic v Morton and Aberdeen v Kilmarnock on Saturday or either of Sunday's ties.
All weekend Scottish Professional Football League matches have been postponed.
"I just look at the blanket weather we have had," said Morton's Warren Hawke.
"We've never seen anything like this before - well I haven't in my 20 years north of the border.
"I just think a blanket postponement for this weekend's fixtures seems the correct decision so everyone can get themselves back on track and start planning again."
'It's great the game's on' - Dons boss
SFA interim chief executive Andrew McKinlay said: "As it stands there are no plans to call off any of the William Hill Scottish Cup Sixth Round fixtures. The desire and hope is that they proceed as planned.
"There are no pitch inspections scheduled for these matches at this stage and each host club has worked tirelessly to ensure the pitches and the surrounding areas are safe and in the best possible condition.
"We reiterate that we are in constant close contact with all clubs concerned, police and local authorities. The situation will be reviewed regularly on a case by case basis."
McKinlay will be leaving the SFA in May to become chief executive of Scottish Golf
Morton's meeting with Celtic is scheduled to kick off at 12:30 GMT, with Aberdeen v Kilmarnock at 15:00.
"We have got supporters that we sent out tickets to on Tuesday this week and they haven't received them yet," Hawke told BBC Scotland.
"We've had phone calls today from our supporters saying, 'I've got seven tickets, by the way I can't get out of my drive - we've got a foot-and-a-half of snow here. What do I do?'
"It's just so easy to say, 'Game's on, everything's fine on and around Celtic Park'.
"But you'll have people trying to risk it because they are die hard supporters, they are fanatics and they will try and do everything to get to the game.
"We are just not considering our customers one little bit."
Falkirk manager Paul Hartley, whose side visit Rangers on Sunday (14:15) after Motherwell host Hearts (16:15), highlighted the need to consider the safety of supporters.
"I think we have got to have the concerns of the supporters [on our minds] for sure," said Hartley.
"Safety is always paramount. Maybe sometimes just wait to the last minute. But we have got to be sensible too in terms of when we call games off. You can't wait until the last minute. Our concerns is always the safety of supporters and our players."
Hartley (left) has guided Falkirk to the last eight with wins over Livingston and Cove Rangers
Heavy snow means the Falkirk Stadium is out of bounds and Hartley has been forced to take his players to Ravenscraig for some indoor training in a bid to get ready for Sunday.
But he is sure his players will be ready for Rangers if the game does go ahead.
"It's been difficult in terms of the conditions and players travelling from different locations," Hartley added. "Today we thought we could get on the pitch but we had to call off at the last minute. We managed to get Ravenscraig and a full pitch for the next few hours. It's not ideal but we just have to get on with it."
McKinley added: "The safety of supporters, players and staff, as always, remains our top priority. We acknowledge that, either way, some supporters are likely to be left inconvenienced.
"However, we are conscious that a great many have already committed to tickets and travels plans and that - along with improving weather conditions, forecasts from authorities and the views of the majority of the clubs involved - has led to our current stance.
"Any supporter who does decide to travel is urged to do so with caution and consult all relevant public transport and travel bodies before embarking on any journey.
"Conditions are of course changeable and we remain on standby to react to developments."