DUNDEE UNITED owner Mark Ogren has claimed that Police Scotland prevented their Scottish Cup quarter-final with Celtic being played on a Saturday.

The teams will meet in the competition on Monday, March 14.

Rangers will be in the City of Discovery the day before at Dens Park. 

The SFA had waited until after both Old Firm side's recent games in Europe had been concluded before making a final decision on dates and kick-off times for the games. 

Dundee United had hoped with Celtic exiting the Europa Conference League, that their cup tie could've been played on Saturday, March 12. 

The game will be played on the Monday though, with both parties engaging in a war of words over ticket prices.

However, frustrated owner Ogren has revealed that a police veto meant the match couldn't be moved to the Saturday.

Ogren told The Courier: “I’m going to preface this by saying I’ve got nothing but respect for the police and what they do to keep us all safe.

“That aside, I was shocked when we were talking about the potential nights when we were going to be able to schedule our Scottish Cup game that it came down to Sunday or Monday. 

“Well, what about Saturday? We were told by the Scottish FA that, no, the police have already taken that off the table. I have a hard time with that.

"I’m actually shocked and frustrated with the fact that the police have the authority to decide that it’s not in anyone’s interests to have the game on the Saturday.

“God-forbid we look at helping out businesses, clubs, restaurants, pubs and hotels that have been decimated by Covid.

"This would be a great opportunity to help those particular businesses.

“It’s also a lot more fun for the fans to have Scottish Cup quarter final on a Saturday."