Hearts boss Steven Naismith ‘disappointed’ with Rangers decision

Steven Naismith has been speaking about the Hearts v Rangers situation

Hearts have revealed their ‘disappointment’ at not receiving an equal 50/50 ticket split ahead of the Viaplay semi-final cup fixture against Rangers. The Jambos reached the final four of the tournament following a 2-1 win over Kilmarnock last month.

They are set to play the Ibrox side, who are still currently searching for a new manager, at Hampden Park but will not be welcomed by the same number of fans as their opponents. Rangers defeated Livingston 4-0 at home to reach yet another Viaplay Cup semi-final. It was announced last month that Hearts would only receive an initial batch of 18,000 tickets for the November 5 clash at the 52,000-seater National Stadium with that figure potentially rising by 2,000 if the initial brief is met.

The Gorgie-based side launched sales for the semi-final yesterday and their current boss, former Hearts and Rangers striker Naismith, believes the governing body have handled the ticketing arrangements poorly.

He explained: “I just find it hard that it wouldn’t be your starting point. I think clubs grow, clubs get more backing, clubs get engaged with their fanbase to increase it. Hearts have been a club that have shown that. We could easily cover 50/50 in a big semi-final game like that. It is disappointing but we accept it and we’ll deal with it.”

Additionally, Hearts released their own statement which said: “The club would like to assure fans that we requested and pushed for an even 50-50 split of tickets, but due to previous sales history and the inability to segregate Hampden’s North Stand into subsections, this request was denied. Naturally, we are very disappointed at this outcome but we are confident that Hearts supporters will take up our full allocation and turn Hampden into a sea of maroon.”

Tickets are now available to purchase from the Hearts website for the upcoming clash against Rangers on 5 November.