Celtic Frustrated by Monday Night Start to Title Defence

Celtic will begin their Scottish Premiership title defence under the floodlights on a Monday night – and they are far from happy about it.

The champions open against Dundee at Celtic Park on 3 August, with kick-off set for 19:30 BST, after being told there was “no choice” but to move the game away from the traditional weekend slot. The decision stems from a congested Glasgow calendar, with Glasgow 2026 cycling events at the Sir Chris Hoy Arena and two Calvin Harris concerts at Hampden dominating the city over the weekend of 1 and 2 August.

For Celtic, it cuts against everything they believe an opening-day fixture should be.

The club say they made “repeated representations” to both the SPFL and Police Scotland, pushing for a weekend date to launch their latest title defence. Those efforts hit a wall. Safety and logistical concerns around the cycling events next door to Celtic Park, combined with the major concerts across the city, led authorities to insist the match be played on the Monday evening.

Celtic’s frustration runs deeper than simple inconvenience. They argue the league’s showcase should not be shunted to the margins of the calendar.

“We feel strongly a weekend timing should have been facilitated in the interests of both teams, both sets of supporters and the status of the fixture,” the club said, underlining a sense that the champions’ curtain-raiser has been compromised rather than celebrated.

The club have at least secured one concession. Acknowledging the sizeable travelling support from Ireland, Celtic say they have negotiated an earlier evening kick-off to ease the journey for those crossing the water for the first league game of the 2026-27 campaign.

While Celtic bridle at their Monday start, the rest of the opening round retains a more familiar feel – and a heavy television presence. All six fixtures on the first weekend will be shown live, with the season beginning on Friday, 31 July, when Dundee United host Rangers at 20:00.

The schedule builds from there. Hearts, last season’s runners-up, head to Pittodrie to face Aberdeen on the Saturday at 17:30, a fixture that already carries the scent of an early marker between two clubs eyeing the space just behind Celtic and Rangers. Earlier that day, Falkirk meet St Mirren at 15:00, completing a televised triple-header across the first two days.

So the new campaign will start with wall-to-wall coverage, a packed city, and a champion grumbling about the slot they’ve been handed. The question now is whether Celtic turn that irritation into early-season edge when the title defence finally kicks off on a Monday night in the East End.