THERE is so much to look forward to in this weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-finals, with Motherwell and Aberdeen kicking us off today at Hampden Park.

There will doubtless be many interested observers from both sides of the Sunday clash between Celtic and Rangers looking in on the action this afternoon too, and not only to scout potential final opponents.

One of the main things that will be noted by supporters of whichever Glasgow giant makes it through to the showpiece occasion in May is the attendance in the first semi-final, and woe betide us if Motherwell are the side to make it through.

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The Fir Park side are expected to take only around 4000 fans with them on the short trip to Mount Florida today, which of course, is a bit of a shame for their players on the face of it. But it should be noted, that this figure represents the upper end of their normal home gate, which sheds a rather kinder light on the travelling support for the Steelmen.

Regardless, it will no doubt be used as a stick to beat them with should they make it through to the final, in a similar way that the admirable support of 12,000 or so that Aberdeen will bring to a lunchtime kick-off live on the telly will be cited as a reason as to why they shouldn’t receive a 50/50 split either.

I get the argument from Celtic and Rangers supporters that their own loyal fans miss out when it comes to the showpiece event after a season of following their team all over the country, and I do feel for the supporters who can’t attend. And I also get that it must be hard to take when they see fans at the other end of the stadium who may be day-tripping at their one game a season, or ex-pats who have travelled over just for the occasion and picked up a ticket no problem.

But the Scottish Cup final is not a home game for Celtic or Rangers. It is supposed to be a level playing field at a neutral venue (despite the fact that both Glasgow sides enjoy their own ‘end’ of Hampden). Is it not enough that these sides enjoy huge advantages over the others in terms of their greater resources, and subsequently better players? They want a massive numerical advantage in the stands too? Well, I’m sorry, but if we are talking about fairness, then you have to take into account equity in a sporting sense as well.

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Both teams who line up at Hampden for the final will have overcome similar hurdles to get there, and in the case of Motherwell and Aberdeen – the Fir Park club in particular – will have done so despite the financial disparity between them and their final opponents. They deserve the chance to have the same amount of support on their big day as whoever they are lining up against.

The starting point for Scottish Cup final tickets should be a 50% allocation to each club (discounting sponsors and the like), and if one club looks likely not to be able to sell that allocation, the tickets should be redistributed to the opposition accordingly.

In Aberdeen’s case, they would likely take up their full quota of briefs, as they did last season, but Motherwell are unlikely to sell 20,000 tickets, say. They took 13,000 to the League Cup final earlier this season, and 17,000 when they played Celtic in the final of this competition in 2011. On both occasions, Celtic were handed the leftover tickets.

That’s the way it should be. Just as the price for following a smaller team is that you will rarely make such occasions, so the price of following a bigger team with a massive support is that you might miss out on them. The fact there will probably be another chance along soon enough is a hollow consolation, but this is the national cup final.

Of course, if Hampden had been redeveloped properly to accommodate a larger attendance, we wouldn’t routinely be in this mess. But it wasn’t, and it can’t, so we are.