⚽ The Kick-Off - Friday 30th January 2026
Celtic progress to Europa League Play-Off Round. Rangers lose to Porto. Aberdeen, Hibs, Hearts, Partick Thistle, St Johnstone, Dunfermline and Dumbarton all make signings. Weekend TV guide.
📒 Random Scottish Football Fact #240: St Mirren's record attendance is 47,438 at Love Street for a League Cup tie versus Celtic in August 1949
NEWS
🟢 Celtic are into the Europa League Play-Off Round after beating Utrecht 4-2 at Celtic Park. Benjamin Nygren, an own goal, and an Arne Engels penalty saw Celtic race into a 3-0 lead after just 20 minutes. An Auston Trusty header in the second half settled any nerves after the visitors had pulled it back to 3-2.
Martin O’Neill’s side finished in 21st place and will now face Ferencvaros or Stuttgart.
The draw is tomorrow. Should Celtic progress, it would be Porto or Braga in the knockouts. - view the Europa League table
🔵 Rangers ended their Europa League campaign with a 3-1 defeat away to Porto. Djeidi Gassama had headed Rangers into a sixth-minute lead. Three goals before half-time ended any hopes of an away win to round off the European campaign. - view the Europa League table
🔵 St Johnstone have posted a profit of nearly £350,000 in their latest set of annual accounts. This follows on from a profit of £110,000 last year. - Eric Nicolson, The Courier
⚽️ Hearts CEO Andrew McKinlay has been appointed as Vice President of the Scottish FA following a Scottish FA General Meeting.
McKinlay will remain as Chief Executive at Tynecastle while he fulfills the Vice President role. Longer term, history tells us he will likely succeed Mike Mulraney as Scottish FA President. - Scottish FA website
🆕 James Grady has announced his latest Scotland Under-16 squad for upcoming friendlies in Cyprus. The young team will take on Cyprus, Romania, and Wales. - Scottish FA website
🔵 A Rangers fan sadly died in Porto ahead of their Europa League tie. - David Irvine, Glasgow Times
📝 Stenhousemuir’s Ross Meechan has signed a contract extension until the end of next season. - Stenhousemuir FC website
🔵 Peterhead’s Jack Brown has signed a new two-year contract at Balmoor. - Peterhead FC website
LATEST TRANSFERS
Permanent Signings
Afeez Aremu - FC Kaiserslautern to Aberdeen - Aberdeen FC website
Josh Fowler - Queen’s Park to St Johnstone - St Johnstone website
Kai Kirkpatrick - Kelty Hearts to Dumbarton - Dumbarton FC website
Owen Elding - Sligo Rovers to Hibernian - Liam Bryce, Hibs Observer
Ronan Hale - Ross County to Gillingham - Gillingham FC website
Loan Signings
Fraser Taylor - St Mirren to Partick Thistle - Partick Thistle website
Graham Carey - Livingston to Dunfermline Athletic - Dunfermline Athletic website
Kai Andrews - Coventry City to Hibernian - Hibernian website
Kusini Yengi - Aberdeen to Cerezo Osaka - Aberdeen FC website
Rogers Mato - FK Vardar to Heart of Midlothian - Joel Sked, Hearts Standard
🌎 Days until Haiti v Scotland at the World Cup: 134
SCOTTISH FOOTBALL FIXTURES TODAY
➡️ William Hill Scottish Championship
St Johnstone v Partick Thistle (7.45pm)
🏆 Lowland League Cup First Round
East Stirlingshire v Clydebank (7.45pm)
plus fixtures in the West of Scotland Football League, East of Scotland Football League, and North of Scotland Football League. View all the fixtures here.
SCOTTISH FOOTBALL ON TV THIS WEEKEND
📺 Friday
St Johnstone v Partick Thistle (BBC Scotland: 7.45pm)
📺 Saturday
Sportscene: Open All Mics (BBC One Scotland: 4.30pm)
Hibernian Women v Glasgow City (BBC Alba: 5.15pm)
Dundee United v Heart of Midlothian (Sky Sports: 8pm)
Sportscene: Premiership Highlights (BBC One Scotland: 10.20pm)
📺 Sunday
Rangers Women v Celtic Women (BBC Alba: 1.40pm)
Hibernian v Rangers (Premier Sports 1: 2pm)
Sportscene: Premiership Highlights (BBC Scotland: 7.15pm)
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Excellnt roundup format. Celtic's rapid 3-0 start in tht 20min window really highlights how ruthless European football can be once momentum shifts. The transfer roundup across all divisions is super useful, especially for tracking how lower league moves might affect the bigger picture later in teh season.