Eight SPFL games postponed because of Storm Babet

St Johnstone had said they expected McDiarmid Park to be playable

Seven Scottish Professional Football League matches, including those scheduled for Aberdeen and Perth in the Premiership, have been postponed because of a red weather warning.

Aberdeen were due to entertain Dundee, with St Johnstone hosting Motherwell.

Games in Arbroath, Cove, Elgin, Greenock and Stenhousemuir are also postponed on Saturday.

St Johnstone had earlier stated on their official website that they expected their game to "proceed as planned".

Follow latest from Storm Babet

"Whilst heavy rain has affected the local area, our dedicated ground staff and officials have been working tirelessly to ensure the pitch is in optimal condition and we've taken all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of both players and spectators," they added.

However, red is the most severe of the Met Office's weather warnings, with the public being advised to avoid travelling, and the SPFL said it has "postponed matches in the interests of safety" and "will continue to monitor the situation involving remaining fixtures across the country".

Chief operating officer Calum Beattie said: "We have been in close contact with Police Scotland and our clubs and it's clear that we continue to face very severe weather, particularly in the North East, in the coming days.

"We never postpone any matches lightly, but our discussions with the emergency services left us in no doubt that this was the correct decision."

The red weather warning is for Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee and Perth & Kinross for 24 hours from 12:00 BST on Saturday, while an amber warning has been issued for Caithness, Easter Ross, East Lothian, Midlothian, the Scottish Borders and Sutherland from 12:00 on Friday until 06:00 on Saturday.

A full programme of SPFL games was scheduled over the next three days, with Airdrieonians hosting Queen's Park in the Championship on Friday, Heart of Midlothian entertaining Celtic on Sunday in the Premiership and the rest of the games on Saturday.

Among those is St Mirren's long, top-flight trip to face Ross County in Dingwall.

Also on Sunday, there is a full programme of Scottish Women's Premier League games, while Glasgow Warriors host Leinster in their opening United Rugby Championship fixture and, on Saturday, Edinburgh start their league season away to Dragons in Wales.

Scottish Professional Football League postponements

Premiership - Aberdeen v Dundee, St Johnstone v Motherwell. Championship - Arbroath v Raith Rovers, Greenock Morton v Inverness Caledonian Thistle. League 1 - Cove Rangers v Montrose. League 2 - Elgin City v Forfar Athletic, Stenhousemuir v Peterhead.

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