Referee named for Aberdeen v Hearts as the Scottish Premiership begins for season 2026/27

The Scottish Premiership gets underway this weekend with all six fixtures live on Sky Sports in a staggered opening round. The action begins with Dundee United v Rangers on Friday night at 8pm, followed by Falkirk v St Mirren at 3pm on Saturday, then Aberdeen v Hearts at 5.30pm on the same day. On Sunday, St Johnstone v Kilmarnock kicks off at 2pm and Hibs v Motherwell at 4.30pm before Celtic host Dundee at 7.30pm on Monday evening.

Hearts’ opening fixture at Pittodrie is a tough start for new head coach Wouter Vrancken just days after a demanding Champions League qualifier against Sturm Graz. The match will be refereed by David Dickinson. Hearts have sold out their allocation for Aberdeen as Vrancken takes his new-look side north. The Tynecastle support remain angry at the officiating which contributed to last season’s league title challenge failing on the final day at Celtic Park in May, although Dickinson was not in charge of any of the games in question.

The Scottish Football Association have decided he will be the official in the middle this weekend. Hearts were angry at referees Steven McLean and John Beaton for penalty decisions which worked against them in the space of a few days at Fir Park in May. Hearts winger Alexandros Kyziridis was denied a penalty kick by McLean after being impeded by Motherwell’s Tawanda Maswanhise, and Beaton then awarded Celtic a stoppage-time spot-kick days later for a disputed handball against former Hearts winger Sam Nicholson.

Both decisions worked in Celtic’s favour and they went on to win the title by two points from the Edinburgh club. There is still lingering dismay in Gorgie at the way those decisions conspired to impact the Premiership title race. Hearts were aiming to win the league for the first time in 66 years and had led the table since September. They only required a draw against Celtic in Glasgow on the final day, but succumbed to a 3-1 defeat.

Vrancken’s arrival in place of Derek McInnes has heralded a new era for the Tynecastle side. The Belgian’s attacking style has already found favour with supporters despite last week’s 4-0 defeat to Sturm in the first leg in Austria. Nine new signings have arrived with the help of Jamestown Analytics, while established names like Lawrence Shankland, Beni Baningime and Cammy Devlin have gone.

Hearts are in a period of transition under Vrancken and wil hope for a positive start to the new league campaign. They have not won at Pittodrie since 2016, when Abiola Dauda struck the winning goal in a 1-0 victory. Two European matches against Sturm will sap plenty energy from the side but Vrancken has a large squad to choose from and is certain to rotate players.

Aberdeen are in good form under Stephen Robinson having won all four of their Premier Sports Cup group games this month. They beat Brora Rangers 2-0, Queen’s Park 2-1, Queen of the South 4-1 and Kelty Hearts 3-0. They will also be eager for a strong start in the Premiership having finished in the bottom half of the table last term.