SKY Sports were forced to apologise to viewers for a problem on the broadcast of the match between Aberdeen and Celtic tonight.

The Premiership sides met at Pittodrie in a dress rehearsal for the Scottish Cup final in 11 days’ time.

Brendan Rodgers fielded a much-changed starting XI for the clash in the North East while Jimmy Thelin named a strong team as his Dons look to apply pressure on Hibs in third, hoping to clinch a Europa League spot.

The Aberdeen fans appeared in better spirits than they were at full-time of the 4-0 loss to Rangers on Sunday.

A number of flares were set off in the home end just as the teams prepared to kick-off.

And as the effects of the pyro engulfed the stadium, the clouds forced Sky into an apology.

The smoke adversely affected the picture quality for some viewers and Sky rushed to apologise to the audience.

A graphic on screen read: “We’re really sorry for the picture problems.”

The graphic appeared twice in the opening three minutes, with the smog most notable in the main camera’s wide shot of the pitch.

But the distraction wasn’t so bad as to make the game overly difficult to watch, particularly when compared to some other games this year.

The Premier Sports Cup semi-final between the same two teams had its kick-off delayed due to a massive pyro display at Hampden.

Both Celtic and Rangers were then warned by the authorities over their fans’ use of pyro during the final of the same competition.

The pyro came from the famous Red Shed end at Pittodrie, formally known as the Merkland Stand.

Eventually the smoke dissipated and the picture quality was back to normal.

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