New restrictions mean Celtic at disadvantage once again as title race hots up…
Celtic will be hit harder than any other club in Scotland when the Scottish Governments new restrictions come in on Boxing Day. This isn’t hyperbole this is the honest truth. We have 3 matches to play between then and the winter break. Firstly St Johnstone away then two huge home matches against Hibs on 29 December and theRangers on 2 January.
“On a purely footballing front we are having to play two vitally important games in front of a basically empty Celtic Park (I’ll come back to the 500 attendance limit in an article later) against a very good side who we only played on Sunday, who will be keen to impress their new manager on top of a crucial Derby match against our main rivals in this season’s title race. We have already faced both these rivals at their homes with the full backing of their fans. No one can argue this isn’t a huge disadvantage to Celtic.
On the other side of the coin, theRangers travel to face possibly their two toughest away games of the season against their biggest rivals Aberdeen and Celtic, who will have next to none of their fan base at the stadium to back them. This hands them a massive advantage which could ultimately have a huge bearing on the outcome of the title race. Sporting Integrity anyone?
I was hugely frustrated on hearing the plans regarding these restrictions, and not just because I was due to travel over to Scotland, but because it obviously sets Celtic at a disadvantage. I understand clearly that this isn’t some sort of conspiracy from the Scottish Government to derail Celtic’s title charge but regardless of the intentions, this is certainly what has happened.
The fairest thing to do in this case, and this decision will be up to the Scottish footballing authorities, would be to move the winter break forward and fitting these three rounds of fixtures in at a later date when the fans can return. I wont hold my breath. Thankfully though Celtic haven’t beat around the bush in regards to at least asking the question. They have released a statement on www.celticfc.com, staying the following:
“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”.
19th December 2021; Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland; Scottish League Cup final, Hibernian versus Celtic: Celtic supporters with flares during the match
It’s good to see the club acting quickly in this regard and the idea has to be given serious consideration from the footballing authorities. In all honesty if they want to maintain an equal playing field in their flagship competition it really is the only option.
Conall McGinty
it wouldbe the right thing to do CONAL but i won’t hold my breath
Stupid statement to make, we are not anymore disadvantaged than other clubs in Scotland