UNDER THREAT

Covid crackdown puts Old Firm derby in peril

SCOTTISH football chiefs are anxiously awaiting the green light for next month’s first Old Firm clash of the season — after the threat of temporary lockdown raised fresh doubts over the SPFL’s showpiece fixture.

The league still hope Nicola Sturgeon will allow the game to go ahead despite the First Minister planning a strict clampdown on the Covid-19 clusters sweeping through Scotland. But they have yet to receive a guarantee over the October 17 showdown between Celtic and Rangers, which may not qualify as a ‘low risk’ outdoor event under new guidelines being considered.

As the rising ratio of positive test results pushes politicians and public health officials towards unpopular decisions, football finds itself firmly in the firing line.

Fresh doubts have been raised about a Betfred Cup format that pits teams from inside the

Premiership ‘bubble’ against lower-league sides — with Scottish authorities fearing a repeat of the uncertainty now surrounding the Leyton Orient v Tottenham clash in the equivalent competition down south.

Already, it looks as if plans to welcome even a few hundred supporters into Celtic Park for the visit of Rangers will have to be scrapped.

And while constant testing of players should ensure that full-time professionals are still cleared to play, the SPFL are taking nothing for granted.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will today announce fresh measures to combat the spread of Covid, and Sturgeon is likely to follow suit.

The First Minister, who will take part in a COBRA meeting with the PM this morning, warned yesterday that ‘additional restrictions will almost certainly be put in place in Scotland over the next couple of days’. She also confirmed the authenticity of a leaked report that included some worrying content for football.

There are two options, in particular, that are of concern. The first is for a two-week lockdown next month.

The second is a ‘rolling circuit break’ applied to different regions according to the timing of their half-term break.

The Celtic v Rangers fixture falls on the closing weekend of the Glasgow schools’ October week.

Under the terms of either lockdown measure, there will be ‘no spectators in stadia’ — and, even without fans, ‘only low-risk outdoor live events’ will be allowed.

The worry is that the Scottish Government will see even a closeddoors Old Firm clash as a risk.

Public health officials are concerned that supporters may gather in large numbers to watch the game on TV — or even gather outside the stadium before and after the match.

Celtic and Aberdeen, meanwhile, were yesterday hit with minimal fines over the lockdown breaches of their players earlier this season. A special sub-committee of the SPFL board ordered both clubs to make an £8,000 payment to the SPFL Trust — with each under the threat of a further £22,000 hit in the event of a repeat offence between now and the end of the campaign.

The fines relate to Celtic defender Boli Bolingoli jetting to Spain and then playing in an SPFL fixture without observing quarantine or informing his club, as well as eight Aberdeen players breaking social distancing rules on a night out in the city centre on the opening day of the season.

A spokesman for the SPFL accepted that neither club could have predicted or prevented the breaches by players, saying: ‘Aberdeen FC and Celtic FC demonstrated that they had gone to enormous lengths to ensure that their players adhered to all relevant requirements and protocols relating to Covid-19.

‘However, the requirement of individual players to adhere to their clubs’ carefully-designed protocols is a matter of personal and professional responsibility on the part of those players. That the players involved ignored the strict and comprehensive requirements set down by Scottish football, by their clubs and by the Scottish Government, is obviously a serious issue. ‘But, given the lengths to which the clubs had gone in each case to seek to ensure compliance by its players, the SPFL board sub-committee suspended the majority of the fines imposed. The fact that adherence to social distancing and other regulations has been assiduous in the intervening period is obviously something we welcome, and we congratulate players, staff and officials for taking a leading role on these important issues.’ Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack added: ‘It’s a fair outcome that demonstrates a commonsense approach. The SPFL have recognised the enormous efforts we have made to develop and adhere to robust procedures and protocols.

‘They have taken into account the measures we have since put in place to reinforce these with all our staff and players.

‘The whole regrettable incident is now well and truly behind us.’

At an earlier hearing, Bolingoli was handed an immediate threematch suspension by the SFA before being loaned to Turkish champions Istanbul Basaksehir.

The eight Aberdeen players were all handed suspended bans. All nine players were fined by their clubs, too.