CIS Cup draw turns to farce

The CIS Insurance Cup semi-final draw descended into farce on Thursday night after a procedural error emerged just hours after the event.

The draw at the Scottish Parliament was made by Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond and a representative of the sponsors, in the company of Presiding Officer Alex Fergusson.

However an apparent bungle concerning the numbers for the teams meant they were told the wrong opponents

Rangers, who were initially told they would face Aberdeen, will instead take on Hearts.

And Dundee United will now be Aberdeen's opponents.

It was Fergusson who made the error which did not come to light in the immediate aftermath of the draw.

The teams were allocated numbers based on their final league positions last season, with Rangers ball one for the draw, Aberdeen ball two, Hearts ball three and Dundee United ball four.

But rather than call the four-ball draw correctly, it transpired Fergusson had made an elementary mistake by announcing the wrong teams.

On Thursday the MSP revealed his regret.

"This was a genuine error and I can only apologise for the confusion caused," Fergusson said.

"We have worked as quickly as possible with the Scottish Football League to resolve the situation.

"As a lifelong Stranraer fan I think everyone can be assured that there was no ulterior motive."