Kilmarnock’s plans for a training camp in Tenerife have been thrown up in the air after they were told to play their abandoned Ladbrokes Premiership game against Motherwell on Saturday.
The match will take place at 48 hours notice after Wednesday’s game fell foul of fog moments after the second half kicked off with the score 0-0.
Both teams had a free weekend after getting knocked out of the William Hill Scottish Cup but Killie assistant manager Alex Dyer appeared to rule out playing the game on Saturday because both clubs had made plans.
But it is understood the Scottish Professional Football League insisted the game must take place this weekend.
A Kilmarnock statement read: “Following discussions between both club and the league, this decision has been made by the SPFL and the club apologises to supporters for the short notice surrounding this fixture.”
Steve Clarke’s squad were due to fly to Tenerife on Saturday and it is understood the club are not happy about the rearranged date.
They are now in discussions over their travel plans while facing the challenge of arranging match day staff at short notice to ensure the game goes ahead smoothly.
Killie were hoping to take advantage of a 12-day break between games with their subsequent fixture coming against St Mirren on Monday 11 March.
That scheduling ruled out that midweek for the rearranged game and the following two weeks are unavailable because of the international break.
There is a full midweek card on April 3 and the final games before the split take place on the weekend of April 6-7.
The subsequent midweek is free and both teams will have an available weekend on April 13-14 when the Scottish Cup semi-finals take place but the SPFL wants the game played before the split given it could have a bearing on the make-up of the top and bottom six.
Many Motherwell fans who attended Wednesday’s game were also unhappy after being told that they would have to pay in again on Saturday despite waiting up to 45 minutes after the match to register for free entry.
Killie stated that vouchers handed out among the 650 travelling fans were obsolete and set admission prices of £5 for adults and £3 for children for all non-season ticket holders.
However, Motherwell stepped in to pay the entry fees for those of their fans who went on Wednesday.
Chief executive Alan Burrows told the club’s official website: “While we disagree with Kilmarnock’s decision to not allow fans who travelled free entry to the rearranged game, we respect that it is wholly their call to make under league rules. Our club does not have a say in setting ticket prices for league matches hosted by other clubs.
“We want to do something to thank and reward the supporters who travelled, only to see the game abandoned. We also hope that the discounted ticket price for others will attract many of you to head to Rugby Park to cheer on the team.”
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