Murrayfield pitch and grass length to mirror Hampden for Hearts v Celtic semi

BT Murrayfield's pitch dimensions and grass length will be the exact same as Hampden Park for Sunday's Betfred Cup semi-final between Hearts and Celtic.

BT Murrayfield is ready to host football once again

The Evening News has learned that the tournament organisers, the Scottish Professional Football League, told the Scottish Rugby Union that Murrayfield's playing field should be a precise match with Hampden - which hosts the other semi-final between Aberdeen and Rangers.

Therefore, Murrayfield's pitch has been altered from its original dimensions to 105 metres long and 68m wide, with the hybrid grass standing at 26mm. The SPFL were keen to ensure the pitch mirrored Hampden as closely as possible after switching the Hearts-Celtic tie from Glasgow to Edinburgh.

Celtic trained at Murrayfield earlier this week and Hearts are due to hold a session there tomorrow. The game is approaching a sellout with 30,000 Celtic tickets and more than 27,000 Hearts briefs already sold.

Grass length has been a contentious issue in the past when Celtic and Hearts have met. The Glasgow club's manager, Brendan Rodgers, said he was "embarrassed" by the Tynecastle Park pitch after his team won there last season, stating he felt the surface was too long.