The rumour this morning doing the rounds was that Nicola Sturgeon’s Briefing on the current state of play regarding the pandemic would include an enforced reduction in the number of fans able to attend the Glasgow Derby at Ibrox this Sunday.
Some were putting the reduction at 40% others even higher at half the capacity of their Ibrox stadium, there were even articles published about this in the papers. It turned out to be a false alarm – for now at least – as the First Minister did not choose to intervene on allowing capacity crowds at football at this stage.
However there is a real concern at Government level about the pandemic statistics and unless there is a reversal in the trends then we could well see a re-introduction of limited capacity or even – heaven forbid – behind closed doors football.
Having fuelled the rumour this morning Daily Record were able to reveal exclusively that Glasgow City Council had confirmed, in view of the statement from the First Minister that there would be no reduction in tickets for this Sunday’s match. “Full capacity is available for August 29 and on an ongoing basis, unless covid-related guidance or restrictions change,” the Council spokesperson told Daily Record.
Now, had Sturgeon. re-imposed restrictions, as the rumour this morning seemed to imply, then the Council would have had no alternative but to comply and let’s say that the capacity at Ibrox as a result would have at short notice be cut to say 30,000. Or perhaps the First Minister could have gone for the Behind Closed Doors option, again the Council and the club would have no alternative but to comply, unless of course the latter’s support threatened to riot, as apparently happened earlier this year.
So when the Ibrox club sent 750 tickets to Celtic to sell they were actually supplied in good faith but with Covid related restrictions there in the background should the Government change the rules and that was a distinct possibility this morning.
When Celtic told theRangers that they would guarantee them reciprocity on the allocation of 750 tickets for the game at Celtic Park on 2 January 2022, subject to the protocols that may be in place at the time relating to the pandemic, the fact – worth stating – is that both clubs were actually operating on those conditions! theRangers could have had their capacity reduced for Sunday with a few days notice, as we have seen, yet they were not to know that when the tickets were sent to Celtic.
And so if they were unable to be 100% sure that there would be no return to reduced capacity crowds, or indeed to Behind Closed Doors football a week in the distance then how could Celtic say with compete certainty – as theRangers actually demanded according to sources close to the club -almost five months from now in the depths of winter?
Today’s rumour that turned out to be a false alarm – this time – illustrates perfectly just how disingenuous the Ibrox’s club’s position actually is. The wanted guarantees that they weren’t actually able to offer themselves.They were DEMANDING something from Celtic relating to January 2022 while all the time not being entirely sure that they could deliver their part of the agreement this Sunday.