Yorkshire Tartan Army

George Burley says it is 'ridiculous' that Scotland's 2010 World Cup qualifying fixture against Norway next year has been moved. Scotland were originally due to face their Group 9 rivals in Oslo on 19th August, but Fifa has brought the game forward by a week. The change was required after Uefa altered its Champions League dates, but the Scottish FA asked Fifa to switch the Norway fixture to October. Fifa turned down the appeal and Burley is disappointed with the decision as he admits his players are likely to be lacking a competitive edge compared to their opponents. Impossible "We spoke to Fifa six weeks ago," said Burley in the Daily Record. "Uefa changed the date of their Champions League fixtures and Fifa agreed to change our date without any input from ourselves. "I understand Norway supporting the change. If I were in their position I would do the same, but when you agree a date, you expect to play that date and bringing it a week forward disadvantages ourselves. "Most Norwegian players are halfway through their season at that point while ours will have played maybe just one competitive match, which is not ideal leading up to a very important World Cup qualifying game. "The SFA negotiated August 19 because that gave us another week to get into the season. Then, all of a sudden, Fifa moved it to the 12th, to Norway's advantage. "We also have to be fair to the fans. Some of them will have booked for the 19th and it's ridiculous it has been changed. "We told them it should be played in October. That's the only free date. But if they say we must play on August 12, we can't change that. "It will be impossible for me to get players together early for that. Clubs will have pre-season tours and getting ready for the start of the season."