⚽ The Kick-Off | Friday 1st August 2025
Dundee United win in Europe. Hibernian lose in extra time. Dundee United reported to have misused R&D tax relief. Cove Rangers suffer big losses. Richard Jensen leaves Aberdeen.
📒 Random Scottish Football Fact #115:
Glasgow-born Alexander Watson Hutton is known as ‘the father of Argentine football’, after founding the Argentinian national association in 1893 - the first national association in South America. LATEST SCOTTISH FOOTBALL RESULTS
🏆 UEFA Europa League Second Qualifying Round Second Leg
Hibernian 1 - 2 FC Midtjylland (After extra time - FC Midtjylland won 3-2 on aggregate)
🏆 UEFA Conference League Second Qualifying Round Second Leg
FC UNA Strassen 0 - 1 Dundee United (Dundee United won 2-0 on aggregate)
NEWS
🙌 The SPFL is back tonight. You can watch Arbroath v Ayr United on BBC Scotland.
⚽️ With the start of the league season tonight, you don’t have much time to enter the Pie & Bovril 500 prediction game. It is free to enter. - Pie & Bovril website
🟢 Hibernian suffered extra-time heartbreak at Easter Road last night. FC Midtjylland’s Darío Osorio scored a great goal in the first half of extra time, but Rocky Bushiri scored an equaliser. However, an incredible overhead kick in the 119th minute won it for the Danes.
Hibs now drop down into the UEFA Conference League Qualifying Third Round, where they will face Partizan Beograd. The first leg is in Serbia next week. - read the BBC match report
🟠 Dundee United are into the UEFA Conference League Third Qualifying Round after a 1-0 win in Luxembourg. Iurie Iovu scored the only goal of the game.
It was the first European tie Dundee United have won since 1997. United will now face Rapid Vienna next week. The first leg is in Austria. - read the BBC match report
🔎 While it was positive news for United in Europe, the focus on Dundee United in the build-up to the game was the reporting of evidence that Dundee United claimed R&D tax relief for a quarter of its players’ wages.
R&D tax relief must be part of a specific project to make an advance in science or technology. Unfortunately for United, the documentation shared as part of the reporting does not match the stated criteria. - Dan Niedle, Tax Policy Associates
⚫️ After signing a pre-contract agreement, Malik Dijksteel has made his move to St Mirren from Cork City, following an agreement on a fee between the clubs.
The 24-year-old Dutch winger has signed a contract until 2028. - St Mirren website
🔴 Aberdeen centre-back Richard Jensen has been allowed to leave the club despite having a year left on his contract.
Jensen made 41 appearances in his first season at Pittodrie but ended up out on loan last season at Danish side Vejle. He wanted more regular game time, but it could not be guaranteed in the upcoming season. - Ryan Cryle, The Press & Journal
🔵 Football finance expert Kieran Maguire posted on X last night that Cove Rangers lost approximately £470,000 in 2024 and owes the bank £850,000. The club also has other substantial creditors. - Kieran Maguire on X
✍️ League One East Fife have signed Dunfermline Athletic defender Ewan McLeod on loan. - East Fife website
🔵 Montrose have signed attacking midfielder Callum Sandilands on a season-long loan from Hearts. The 19-year-old made 18 appearances for the League One club when he was initially on loan in the second half of last season. - Montrose FC website
✍️ Two young Scottish players have made the familiar move down south to English clubs.
Reuben Cooper, who was part of Kilmarnock’s Youth Cup-winning squad, has moved to Norwich City. - Kilmarnock on X
Young winger Cammy Wilson has left Aberdeen for Derby County. - Aberdeen FC website
🔵 Jason Holt has been named the new St Johnstone captain.
Sven Spangler and Morgan Boyes have been made vice-captains. - St Johnstone website
🆕 Aberdeen have released a new European (third) kit. The Aberdeen website describes it as:
“The new kit features a crisp white base with elegant gold detailing, echoing the regal style of Spanish giants Real Madrid, who the Dons famously defeated on that historic evening in Gothenburg on 11th May 1983.”
🏟️ Visiting Dens Park this season? Dundee is going cashless. All food kiosks, hospitality lounges, and bars within Dens Park will be card payment only from Sunday 3rd August onwards. - Dundee FC website
🤝 The South East Region Youth Football Association stated earlier this week that they were banning clubs from lining up their players for post-match handshakes in an attempt to stop poor behaviour.
Association vice-Chairman Douglas Dalgleish told The Herald: “ …there has been an escalation in the ranges of offences while players were shaking hands in this lineup procedure at the end of the game when emotions are running high.” - Mark McDougall, The Herald
SCOTTISH FOOTBALL FIXTURES TODAY
➡️ William Hill Championship
Arbroath v Ayr Untied (7.45pm)
➡️ Parks Motor Group Lowland League
Cumbernauld Colts v Celtic B (7.45pm)
East Stirlingshire v Bo’ness United (7.45pm)
SCOTTISH FOOTBALL ON TV THIS WEEKEND
📺 Friday
Arbroath v Ayr United (BBC Scotland: 7.45pm)
📺 Saturday
Open All Mics (BBC One Scotland: 4.25pm)
Motherwell v Rangers (Sky Sports: 5.30pm)
Sportscene: Premiership Highlights (BBC Scotland: 8pm)
📺 Sunday
Falkirk v Dundee United (Sky Sports: 2pm)
Celtic v St Mirren (Sky Sports: 4.30pm)
Sportscene: Premiership Highlights (BBC Scotland: 7.15pm)
Sacked in the Morning: Alan Rough (BBC Scotland: 8.30pm)
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