Scotland v Ukraine World Cup play-off semi-final postponed
- Published
Ukraine are bidding to reach their second men's World Cup finals
Scotland's World Cup play-off semi-final against Ukraine has been postponed.
The nations were due to meet at Hampden on 24 March but Ukraine requested that Fifa moved the tie back following Russia's invasion of the country.
As a result, the play-off final for the winners - against either Wales or Austria - will now also be delayed.
Scotland aim to play a home friendly on 24 March and an away match against the loser of Wales v Austria on 29 March.
Discussions are under way for a new date for the Ukraine match, with the Nations League window in June the most likely option. Tickets purchased for the 24 March date will be valid for the rescheduled fixture.
The World Cup finals take place from 21 November to 18 December.
A large contingent of recent squads selected by Ukraine have contained players who play their club football in their homeland, with 15 out of the 23-man pool for November's World Cup qualifiers based in Ukraine.
The sides are due to face each other in June on Nations League duty, with each side already scheduled to play four games during that break.
The Scottish FA say they "support the decision to uphold the request to postpone the match and reiterate our message of solidarity to our friends and colleagues within the Ukrainian Association of Football".
And SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell commented: "The importance and significance of football is greatly diminished in a time of war and our thoughts are with those Ukrainian civilians affected by the conflict."
Former Scotland assistant manager Mark McGhee agrees with the decision to postpone the play-off semi-final.
"I think it is the right decision, we have got to respect what is going on over there and how it affects their players," said the Dundee boss, who won four caps for the national team.
"Ukraine deserve equal opportunity, maybe even more so in the circumstances, and at the moment it would be such a big ask for their players to come and play a game at that level. Even to get them together at this time would be a little bit unfair.
"So I don't think there is anything lost by it. Scotland fans obviously want to know what is happening but I think it is the right thing to do and I don't think anyone at the Scottish FA will have a problem with that."
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