The Scottish Premier League (SPL) agreed to call off tomorrow’s Old Firm derby after listening to a plea from Celtic, who stated that the club and its playing staff were too traumatised by the death of Phil O’Donnell to fulfil the home fixture with Rangers.

The decision was taken yesterday lunchtime after Gordon Strachan, the manager, had spoken to some of his players who knew O’Donnell well. The Motherwell captain, who died last Saturday at the age of 35 after collapsing on the Fir Park pitch, spent five years with Celtic and many at the club were deeply upset by the tragedy.

The move will create a scheduling problem for the SPL. Indeed, it might be months before the Glasgow clubs can find an available midweek date to restage the game, given that both have European commitments in February and early March.

The proposal to cancel the game, though, did not come from the SPL. The ruling body had already called off Motherwell’s matches against Hibernian and Celtic, tomorrow and on Sunday respectively, and tomorrow’s match between Gretna and St Mirren at Fir Park – the ground they rent from Motherwell – but the SPL left it to Celtic to make the request. Privately, Strachan and Walter Smith, the Rangers manager, feel that the SPL should simply have called off all the Clydesdale Bank Premier League games as a mark of respect.

Cancelling the Glasgow derby at such short notice had seemed an unlikely scenario at the start of the day. However, Strachan swiftly assessed that several of his squad were still too shocked to play. Stephen McManus, the captain, who knows the O’Donnell family, and Scott McDonald, the striker, who played alongside O’Donnell at Motherwell, were visibly upset when they laid wreaths outside Fir Park on Sunday.

“These are never easy decisions,” Iain Blair, the secretary of the SPL, said. “However, we recognise that as a former player, Phil was part of Celtic’s extended football family. After consultation with Rangers we agreed to postpone the Old Firm fixture.” McManus spoke on Celtic’s website yesterday to explain the players’ moral dilemma. “A number of our squad have very close connections to Phil’s family and feel it would be inappropriate to proceed with this match at such a time, following such a tragic event,” he said.

“We understand sincerely the inconvenience and frustration a postponement would cause supporters of both teams, particularly those who travel long distances to games – and we fully respect the views of all fans on this matter. However, we feel that this would be the only correct decision. I hope that supporters would understand our position in such circumstances.”

Strachan gave a press conference in the morning before the decision to postpone had been made. “The powers-that-be have spoken to us about it and, yes, the game is going on,” he said. “I feel uncomfortable even talking about football just now. It is irrelevant.

“Phil’s second club was probably Celtic friends-wise and the reaction, when the news came through the other day, you knew he had a lot of close friends here, that’s for sure. Because I don’t think I’ve seen a reaction like that in football. We’ve had legendary figures dying on us but at an older age. For a young man to be taken away . . . I think we are all trying to get our heads round the fact he has got four kids and a young wife.”

Smith added his condolences. “On behalf of everyone at Rangers, our thoughts are with Phil’s family,” the manager said. “His death puts football firmly into perspective. It is something that I have no experience of. We heard the news on the team bus on Saturday on our way back from Edinburgh. Everyone was stunned. Barry Ferguson knows Phil’s family, because they both come from Hamilton, and he is feeling most affected. We can only think about the player’s family and the people close to him. It is a tragic thing. It really is.”