The 2009–10 Scottish Cup was the 125th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The competition was sponsored by the Scottish Government and for sponsorship reasons was known as the Active Nation Scottish Cup.[1]
Saturday/Sunday 10/11 April 2010, or following midweek
2
N/A
4 → 2
Final
Saturday 15 May 2010
1
N/A
2 → 1
From the First Round to the Third Round, postponed or drawn ties are normally replayed on the following weekend and thereafter on consecutive midweeks. From the Fourth Round to the Sixth Round, postponed or drawn ties are normally replayed on the second midweek after the original date, and thereafter on consecutive midweeks. There are no replays in the semi-finals or the Final.
First round
The draw for the First Round was made at Hamilton Crescent, popularly known as the West of Scotland Cricket Ground, at 15:00 on 3 September 2009. Hamilton Crescent is now the oldest surviving ground to have hosted Scottish Cup Finals, and also hosted the first ever international football match.
This round is populated entirely by non-league clubs:
Burntisland Shipyard was the last club drawn and received a bye to the Second Round.
Four of the five Junior clubs (Girvan and the four qualifiers) won their ties, while Bonnyrigg Rose lost after a replay.[3][4]Hawick Royal Albert's defeat by Huntly led to a police investigation of an allegation that the match had been fixed.[5]
The 17 winners and 1 bye from the First Round enter here, along with the 10 SFL Third Division clubs, and Cove Rangers (Highland League champions), Deveronvale (Highland League runners-up), Spartans (East of Scotland League champions), and Threave Rovers (South of Scotland League champions). The draw took place on Wednesday 30 September at Scotstoun Leisure Centre.[6]
The 16 winners from the Second Round enter here, along with the 10 SFL Second Division clubs, and 6 SFL First Division clubs (as the side relegated from the SPL and the clubs which finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th enter in the Fourth Round). The draw took place on Wednesday 28 October.[7]
The 16 winners from the Third Round entered here, along with the 12 SPL clubs and four SFL First Division clubs who were exempt from playing in the Third Round. The draw took place on Monday 30 November at 2:30pm at Hampden Park. The matches were scheduled for 9 January or 10 January 2010, but 10 games were postponed due to the severe weather conditions.
There was controversy as First Division side, Dunfermline Athletic, fielded an ineligible player in their match against Stenhousemuir. As well as this, the club's management failed to register the two mandatory under-21 players required by the rules and submitted an inaccurate team sheet. As a result of these breaches in the rules, Dunfermline Athletic were to be expelled from the competition and Stenhousemuir were to progress their stead.[8] However following an appeal by the club, a committee decided that expulsion from the competition was too harsh a punishment and wasn't merited by what the club's management described as "honest errors". The club were given a reprieve along with fines and forfeits of benefits totalling around £30,000. Furthermore, the result of the game was overturned was replayed at Ochilview Park to decide which team progressed in the competition.[9]
The Draw for the Fifth Round was made on Sunday 10 January at approximately 2:15pm at New Douglas Park. It featured the 16 winners of Round 4. The ties were played on 6 & 7 February.
Domestically, both Sky Sports and BBC Sport Scotland broadcast selected live games, with both showing the final. Both also carry highlights of all games in every round.
BBC Radio Scotland has exclusive domestic radio rights to the tournament.
Through the SFA's international media partner IMG, the Scottish Cup is broadcast in various territories around the world. In Australia, for example, the Scottish Cup is currently available on Setanta Sports.
