Aberdeen have slammed the SPFL for their scheduling of the League Cup semi-finals and the decision to play their match against Rangers on a Sunday lunchtime in Glasgow.

The tournament organisers held talks with the club on Thursday, along with fellow semi-finalists Rangers, Celtic and Hearts, as they sought to find a resolution to a fixture conflict.

Initially, the two semi-final ties were scheduled for October 27 and 28 but the SPFL were forced into a rethink as Rangers and Celtic are in Europa League action on the Thursday before the semi-finals.

The SPFL cited a contractual obligation to play both games at Hampden and decided to play both games back-to-back on October 28 with Aberdeen and Rangers kicking off at noon, and Cletic facing Hearts at 7.45pm.

Aberdeen have reacted angrily to the decision, which asks their fans to travel to Glasgow for the early match, saying that they have complained about previous matches being scheduled early in the day.

The club said that their opposition to the scheduling of both games being played within hours of each other at Hampden was shared by other semi-finalists and pointed out that alternative that met the contractual obligation had not been fully explored.

An AFC spokesperson said: "As a club we have repeatedly asked that the authorities stop giving us kick-off times which, for our large travelling support, are completely unacceptable, but yet again, what should be a showpiece occasion, is scheduled to start at a time that does not take supporters into account.

"While we appreciate Police Scotland was insistent that our game was played first for operational reasons, we believe, and stated along with others, that having both games in the same stadium on the same day, is inappropriate.

"There are other options that should have been investigated further, including staging the two games on consecutive weekends or using two different venues which would have allowed kick-off times more suitable for what are hugely significant occasions in the Scottish football calendar.

"Contesting the two matches on consecutive weekends would be an alternative surely worth investigating, particularly as Celtic are due to face Heart of Midlothian in the Ladbrokes Premiership the following weekend, while also fulfilling the contractual obligations.

"We appreciate the authorities have a difficult job to schedule games in what is an extremely congested calendar but to yet again ask our supporters to be in Glasgow for a 12 noon start on a Sunday is, quite frankly, appalling."