Fans are being left to cry into their beer
SO, let’s get this straight. Next Saturday, it’s okay to travel to Glasgow city centre and eat lunch with friends. It’s okay to stroll to a nearby pub, sink a few pints then phone a taxi. Buying a ticket for the underground and taking a trip to Ibrox? No problem. But forget the notion of being one of 400 golden ticket Rangers fans wearing a face covering in a huge open-air stadium with 50,000 seats to watch a game of football against Dundee United. The willingness of the Scottish Government to allow test events for the return of fans is welcome. But some of the restrictions they apply to football are illogical. According to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the data shows that indoor social gatherings are driving the current surge of cases in the west of Scotland. But if the data shows that Glasgow’s problems are caused by some selfish halfwits throwing parties in their front room, then where is the scientific rationale for stopping Rangers hosting a carefully managed pilot for a few hundred responsibly-distanced supporters in the open air? Three games, including Ross
County hosting Celtic, might host a limited number with a view to increasing the numbers for all clubs in the weeks ahead. But the treatment of the national game in recent weeks should tell fans one thing. The only way they can be certain of watching their team this side of Christmas is on a big screen in the corner of their local boozer.