Hibs 'receive apology from St Johnstone' over Friday night football claims

Hibs have received an apology from St Johnstone following claims that the McDiarmid Park side weren’t involved in discussions to rearrange the Scottish Premiership fixture between the two teams next month.

The Easter Road side announced on Monday that the game, originally scheduled for Saturday October 22 had been brought forward to 7.30pm on Friday October 21 ‘following discussions with the SPFL, Police Scotland, and St Johnstone’.

One of three matches moved in a bid to experiment with different timings in the hope of attracting larger crowds, Hibs also slashed ticket prices for the game to £10 for adults and £5 concessions, following on from last season’s ‘Football for a Fiver’ initiative where all non-hospitality tickets for the meeting between the two clubs in March were priced at £5 in a bid to encourage a capacity crowd.

St Johnstone were chosen as the opposition because McDiarmid Park is one of the more affordable away days for Hibs fans.

Reports emerged late on Monday suggesting that Callum Davidson’s side hadn’t been involved in negotiations and only found out about the rearrangement minutes before the announcement, but the Evening News understands officials from Hibs and St Johnstone met for talks earlier this month to discuss the terms of the fixture, including a pricing structure to make the game affordable for both sets of supporters.

Easter Road chiefs were said to be surprised by the reports and contacted their Saints counterparts in a bid to resolve the issue, with St Johnstone apologising for the erroneous claims.

Meanwhile, Hibs have received clarification over Harry McKirdy’s suspension – with the forward set to miss this weekend’s home game against Aberdeen.