NATIONAL CLINICAL DIRECTOR Professor Jason Leitch has confirmed that the Scottish Government will endorse a controversial method to allow supporters to return to games – by using their postcodes. When asked on BBC Scotland’s Off the Ball whether fans from postcodes nearby Parkhead would be the first to return, Leitch confirmed this would be the first way to determine who gets into games.
“That’s controversial because people wouldn’t like the fact they had been excluded, but as we go back we’re not going to go from zero to 30,000, let’s be clear.
“It’s going to go from zero to 750, to 1500, to 3000. It’s going to move in stages like it has in some other parts of the world.
“You’ve got to do it when the prevalence is low enough for it to be safe.”
“There’s two linked challenges. There’s the people who go and where they come from, and the stadium itself. If you want to go see Montrose play you are unlikely to be traveling a huge distance. Most people who go see Montrose play probably live in Montrose.
“Celtic and Rangers that’s not true, and it’s not true necessarily for Aberdeen.
“There’s the risk of the place, then there’s the risk of the people getting to the place and we’ve got to take both into account. That’s not impossible, we can do that. It can all be managed but we’ve got to manage it very carefully.”
Supporters still are in the dark about when they will be allowed to return to stadiums. With pubs and restaurants shutting in the central belt, fans may be looking longingly to Germany, where clubs are being allowed to reintroduce fans.
11,500 fans at Dortmund today. Up from 9,000 a fortnight ago. A sensible, graduated resumption of normality. In this country? Zero at any league game. But no problem to have 3,000 indoors for The Nutcracker at the Royal Albert Hall in December. It is utterly ludicrous https://t.co/7Mhq6LZ6Zk
— Oliver Brown (@oliverbrown_tel) October 3, 2020
Social distancing is still in play in Germany as they tackle the virus but Dortmund have managed to get 11,500 supporters into the ground, wearing masks and keeping their distance. It has been a gradual return, which is necessary given the volatile nature of the virus but it should surely have some influence over the decision to stop the return to football for supporters.
Fans are the lifeblood of the game, especially in Scotland. Junior teams up to Celtic will struggle if they do not have fans through the gates and spending money. This is a cause of concern in the Scottish game with many having already paid money to have planning procedures in place to protect the spectators coming to stadiums.
