Edinburgh clubs Hearts and Hibs confirm that they have had their Betfred Cup semi-final ticket allocations slashed by the SPFL.

The frustrated clubs have struggled to sell their original share of briefs, unlike their Old Firm rivals.

In a desperate effort to avoid masses of empty seats at Hampden, which has recently been the case, League chiefs announced their ticket cull.

Celtic, who face Hibs on Saturday November 2 at 5:30pm, have put the extra tickets for the match on general sale, bringing the total number of Hoops fans expected to arrive at the national stadium up to 35,000.

READ MORE: Betfred Cup semi-final dates confirmed for Hibs vs Celtic and Rangers vs Hearts

Rangers are also expected to release additional tickets for supporters for their match against Hearts on Sunday November 3 at 3:00pm.

Hibs expressed their disappointment released a statement where Easter Road chief executive Leeann Dempster said: "Whilst the club accepts the need to ensure the best possible attendance at showpiece games, it is our view that it would have been reasonable and practicable for the SPFL to accede to our request to retain a higher number of less expensive tickets.

"The response has been disappointing and frustrating.

“It’s my view that segregation would not have been an issue for the area we requested, and as it is the decision taken means the vast majority of Hibs fans now wishing to go to the game will have to pay the higher price ticket regardless of their age or status.”

Hearts have put on a united front with their rivals, releasing a statement which said: "Following on from Hibernian FC’s statement of earlier today in connection with the allocation of tickets for the Betfred Cup Semi-Finals, we can confirm that we, too, have had our ticket allocation reduced.

"We have been in regular dialogue with the SPFL over the last two weeks to try to prevent any reduction being imposed prematurely.

"While we have had some success in postponing their decision and limiting the reduction in our allocation, we share the frustration expressed by Hibernian.

READ MORE: Betfred Cup draw: Celtic to face Hibernian, Rangers drawn against Hearts

"The reason for re-assessing the initial allocation is that the SPFL Board, which represents all clubs in the SPFL, previously agreed that clubs would work cooperatively with regard to ticket allocation in order to fulfil the objective of maximising attendance at all semi-final and final games held at Hampden.

"While we accept this principle, we do not accept that the timing of their intervention, in this case, has been reasonable.

"The current situation, therefore, regarding availability of tickets for our upcoming semi-final against Rangers is that we have approximately 1,000 tickets remaining for seats in the East Stand, priced at £25 per adult, £10 per concession.

"We also have approximately 2,500 tickets available at £30 in the South Stand, where no concession pricing is available.

"We would, therefore, encourage anyone requiring concession tickets to purchase them as soon as possible to ensure availability of concession pricing.

"With these tickets still available, we remain confident that all Hearts supporters who wish to attend the semi-final should be able to do so."