CHRIS SUTTON
IT might have taken them a while to get there but the Scottish football authorities have made the right call in suspending football indefinitely.
These are not normal times we are living in and there are literally lives at stake. We all love football but it pales into insignificance in these circumstances.
To be honest I was astonished it took them so long to call off the Glasgow derby.
There was no way that could have been allowed to go ahead.
It was ridiculous seeing First Minister Nicola Sturgeon saying public gatherings of more than 500 people were going to be banned – but only from Monday.
This isn’t the start of the latest diet. This is serious.
The Old Firm game would have been a major problem. It’s not just the 50,000 who would have rolled up at Ibrox.
It’s the tens of thousands who would have gathered in the pubs and clubs all around Scotland to watch it on the television.
At a time we’re told to be watching out for older citizens it would have been scandalous to let it go ahead. This is everyone’s parents and grandparents we are talking about.
No matter how big the game, how exciting it might be or how much we would love to see the drama, nothing matters more than taking care of people’s health.
We are not even anywhere near the peak of this coronavirus crisis and the next few months are going to see huge disruption to all walks of life.
It was the right decision but now the authorities have to make another. It might seem trivial in the grand scheme of things but they should end the season right now and declare Celtic champions.
There’s no way we are going to see the game returning any time soon. The English leagues have set a date in early April but there’s no chance of that happening.
UEFA have rightly put the Champions and Europa Leagues on ice but there’s an argument for just writing them off completely this year and starting them up again next season.
They have finally acted but I couldn’t believe they allowed the game at Ibrox to go ahead like they did on Thursday night.
I was there and it was madness to allow hundreds of German fans to come in after a huge outbreak back in their homeland. We had some games behind closed doors and others – like Liverpool v Atletico – in front of full houses.
It doesn’t take a medical expert to see it as irresponsible to let it go ahead, especially when every other country in Europe is shutting the doors.
They also should have acted quicker and shelving the competition for this season could be the next logical step.
There’s no need to take similar action across the continental leagues. Just call them now.
Neil Doncaster said the campaign can’t be made null and void and that’s fine – just declare it straight away instead.
No doubt there will be an angry mob up in arms at the suggestion but it’s a matter of common sense. The hard work has been done by most of the clubs.
Celtic are 13 points clear at the top while Liverpool are miles ahead in England. Leeds have worked hard to get to the top of the Championship, Dundee United have done the hard yards up here.
There would be an outcry for the teams who get relegation but I’m sorry, that’s just the way it is.
Hearts would need to go down.
I’m sure Ann Budge would be on to the lawyers but they have been the worst side in Scotland this season and, as it stands, they would deserve to go down. It works both ways. And before anyone says it’s just because it’s Celtic, then think again. I have a close attachment to Norwich and if we draw a line under the campaign, they have to go down. I get the fact there are huge financial implications involved when dealing with promotion, relegation and European places. But what are the alternatives? We can’t resume playing the season in June or July – if that ends up even possible – as it would wreck any chance of any kind of normality next term. Of course there would be huge disappointment for a lot of clubs and fans but we are living in unprecedented times and it’s the only real action that can be taken. I love my cricket and they have the Duckworth Lewis method of deciding games when the weather cuts them short. It’s a formula they use to work out the potential score and they come to a result. It’s not ideal but it works. You don’t even need it in football – because the league tables don’t lie. It’s the most straightforward way to sort the domestic leagues and allow the country to concentrate on important things.