IT’S PLUCKY 13

Clubs may be forced to play with barely a team

SPFL clubs could be forced to fulfil fixtures this season even if Covid-19 leaves them with just 13 healthy players to choose from.

St Mirren were outraged last week when they were forced to play Hibs without a recognised goalkeeper.

Goalies Jak Alnwick and Dean Lyness contracted the virus and were ruled out of Saturday’s match after being forced to self-isolate for ten days, with third-choice Peter Urminsky also excluded as a precaution.

Facing the prospect of playing an outfield player in goal, manager Jim Goodwin secured an emergency loan for Hearts keeper Bobby Zlamal, with the Czech only meeting his team-mates at 1.30pm on match day.

After the 3-0 defeat, Goodwin insisted he would have had no issue with fielding a team had he lost three outfield players but said he was ‘flabbergasted’ at the SPFL’s insistence that the game had to go ahead under the circumstances. But Sportsmail

understands that scenarios like St Mirren’s could become commonplace if the virus affects other Premiership sides. While there is no hard-andfast rule on postponements due to an outbreak of Covid, it’s believed the SPFL board will use a UEFA rule as a guiding principle. It states that a game must go ahead if a club has 13 fit players — with no distinction made between goalkeepers and those in outfield positions. That increases the likelihood of what played out in Paisley over the past week being repeated at other clubs for as long as the virus remains a threat. Zlamal is likely to retain his place in the side for the visit of Celtic tomorrow although Urminsky, the 21-year-old Slovakian, could come into contention if he returns a negative test. The decision to press ahead with the weekend match came after Aberdeen hand Celtic each had two games postponed when players were plainly at fault. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon reacted with fury to eight Dons players breaching protocols by having a night out in the city, while Parkhead defender Boli Bolingoli played at Kilmarnock when he should have been self-isolating after a secret day trip to Spain. Perplexed at the apparent contradiction, St Mirren have yet to receive a satisfactory explanation from the league as to why their game went ahead. Last Friday, SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said he understood the situation was ‘extremely challenging’ for St Mirren while praising the effectiveness of the current testing regime. The decision by the league to play the game was taken after the Scottish Government’s Clinical Adviser on COVID & Sports, in conjunction with Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board Health Protection Team and Health Protection Scotland, confirmed to the Joint Response Group that there was not enough evidence to support a postponement.