According to the Daily Record, Celtic are in talks with the Scottish Rugby Union over plans to fast track a return of supporters to the sports.
Peter Lawwell and SRU boss, Dominic McKay, have joined forces in an attempt to win government approval for Celtic Park and BT Murrayfield to be used to stage bio-secure trials outlining how supporters can get safely back into their seats.
The hope is that these test events will prove successful enough to allow supporters to return to sporting arenas in Scotland as early as August, which is when the SPFL is set to commence, whilst Rugby continues a month later with Edinburgh facing Glasgow at Murrayfield.
McKay believes that those initial Rugby games could be played in front of limited crowds with social distancing. Similarly, discussions between Edinburgh football clubs, Hearts and Hibs, are believed to have taken place over using Murrayfield for their early season matches.
A Daily Record source said: “Discussions between Celtic and the SRU have been very positive. It’s all about finding solutions and offering those solutions up to the Government. What they’re trying to do is prove supporters can be safely returned to both grounds operating a bubble environment. It’s about laying out the measures that would have to be taken in terms of staggered arrivals, showing fans to their seats, social distancing, face masks and hand sanitising.”
The hope for this becoming a reality relies upon evidence, which can be obtained through testing. The newspaper’s source explained: “The plan would be to hold test events at both venues, with very limited numbers, to show how it can work. If the government like what they see it could be scaled up to allow more supporters in over time. But it does seem as if getting fans back to football and rugby matches in Scotland by August is a realistic target. And it’s important those in charge of sport in this country work together to help create confidence among the public and prove we can provide them with a safe environment.”
Murrayfield bosses have already calculated that under the current rules of two-metre distancing, crowds of up to 14,000 could be safely reintroduced. That number would rise to 34,000 if the government follow the World Health Organisation’s one-metre recommendation.
Trial runs would initially involve no more than 1000 supporters in two grounds with more than 60,000 capacity.
Celtic have already offered supporters virtual season tickets, but fans are set to return to games around Europe with 17 countries already approving plans to bring supporters back in limited numbers. For example, In France the authorities are discussing plans to reschedule the national cup final in Paris in July with as many as 20,000 fans in attendance.
Therefore, there could be hope for Scottish sport and Celtic fans. The Record’s source added: “There have been a lot of gloomy predictions made with some saying supporters may not be allowed back into games until the turn of the year. That would have a catastrophic impact all round. So it’s really up to sport in this country to provide solutions and proof that there is no need for that nightmare scenario to become reality.”
Let’s hope Celtic and the SRU can win this battle.
