Celtic have called for the winter break in Scottish football to be brought forward after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed that games would effectively move behind closed doors on Boxing Day. Despite over 100,000 fans attending games at the weekend, Sturgeon and the Scottish Government have decided to reduce capacities to just 500 around the country.
In a statement posted shortly after the announcement from Holyrood, Celtic said that they owed it to their fans to make sure that supporters are able to attend matches.
“Everyone at Celtic recognises the difficulties presented to society by the current pandemic, and the health and safety of all must always be our priority.
“In light of today’s announcement regarding supporters attending matches, Celtic can confirm that it has today requested that the SPFL bring forward the scheduled winter break and reschedule the fixtures affected by the regulations announced.
“The game owes it to supporters to explore all opportunities to maximise the prospect of all supporters being able to attend matches and support the game they love.”
Celtic are due to play in Paisley tomorrow night in the League but the Buddies have asked for the game to be postponed due to an outbreak in their camp. Following that game, Celtic are due to face St Johnstone in Perth, Hibs at Celtic Park and then Rangers at Paradise. However, given the news that only 500 fans are permitted, the decision to request a postponement until after the winter break is the fairest course of action given that fans are the lifeblood of the game.
