THE Scottish FA confirmed yesterday that it has withdrawn from the bidding to stage a European final in 2019.

Glasgow was in the running to host its first major football occasion in over a decade with a potential Europa League showpiece.

However, Uefa revealed on Wednesday that the SFA did not submit a formal bid after declaring interest. Hampden Park was put forward last February as a proposed venue for either the Europa League final or Super Cup final in two years’ time.

That would have seen the famous stadium stage its first European final since the Uefa Cup final in 2007 between Sevilla and Espanyol of Spain. Hampden also staged the 2002 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen.

An SFA spokesman confirmed yesterday that Hampden will not be bidding for either of the 2019 Uefa finals but would not comment further. However, The Herald understands that the SFA has decided to concentrate their efforts on two major events it has already been awarded.

Glasgow is one of the host cities for the finals of Euro 2020 and Scotland will also host the Uefa Women’s Under-19 Championship in 2019.

Hampden’s withdrawal leaves the way clear for Seville, Istanbul and Baku to fight it out for the Europa League prize. The Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan, a 70,000 capacity venue, where Celtic played Shakhtar Karagandy in 2014 in a Champions League play-off, has been proposed as a final venue along with Sevilla’s Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán (42,500) and Istanbul’s Be?ikta? Arena (43,500).

The absence of a European final is a further cloud on the horizon of Scotland’s national stadium. Hampden is no longer able to host the Champions League showpiece, because Uefa pushed up minimum capacity criteria for the final to 70,000 in 2007.

Hampden may be an iconic football venue, which hosted Europe’s biggest game on three occasions (Real Madrid v Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960, Bayern Munich v St Etienne in1976 and Real-Leverkusen in 2002), but its modest 52,000 capacity means it will not be considered in the future.

That will irk Glasgow football supporters, especially after watching Cardiff stage last weekend’s Champions League final between Real Madrid and Juventus because the city’s 74,500 Principality Stadium (formerly Millennium) is vital to accommodate large supports from both finalists.

Hampden will still be eligible to stage a Europa League final, because Uefa want at least a 50,000 stadium capacity for that occasion so it can avoid the problems that occurred in 2016 when it awarded the final to Basle, whose 35,000 St Jakob Park was unable to meet ticket demands when Liverpool met Sevilla.

A bid had also been made to host the Women’s Champions League final in 2019 in Glasgow but that has also been shelved.