There’s a new strain ... and it feels like all bets are off again. It is definitely a worry
SCOTTISH f ootball was yesterday suspended below Championship level for three weeks amid the worrying rise in Covid cases across the country. The decision, taken by the SFA’s board, also applies to Scottish Cup matches.
Championship football can continue on the condition that players are tested at least once per week. The suspension lasts until Sunday, January 31, but that date will be r eviewed by t he SFA and Scottish Government. On the day the lower leagues were put back in lockdown, Sportsmail asked SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell (below) to explain the thinking behind it. nSportsmail: Why have the SFA taken this decision? nMaxwell: Effectively, it was based on full-time and part-time football. If a full-time player is leaving his house to go to training in a protocol-heavy environment, when they go back home, I’m not saying there is no risk but obviously it is limited. But in a part-time environment, where players are going to work and then going to training, there is potentially a lot more mixing of individuals involved.
That’s why we took the decision we did, given the prevalence of the virus and the increased transmission rate of the new strain.
Should you have taken it earlier?
It’s something we have reviewed on a daily basis. The Joint Response Group (JRG) have met every day since March last year and we are constantly reviewing things. Obviously, things were heightened a week ago when the First Minister introduced increased Covid restrictions. The JRG discussed it over the course of last week, culminating in a meeting on Friday that said: ‘Right, let’s go and speak to the SFA board about a suspension of football’. Could we have made the decision any earlier? You make the decision you make, at the time you make it, for the right reasons. That’s the way we have tried to deal with this pandemic from the start.
How big is the threat of the lower divisions not restarting in three weeks as planned?
We will see how it goes in three weeks. The government have announced restrictions until the end of the month and it made sense for us to review football in line with them. We are in lockdown for a reason — because we want to see it having an impact and we want to see the number of cases reduce. If that happens and restrictions are lifted then we can look at what happens with the game at that point.
Is Premiership and Championship football under threat?
The only circumstances under which it would f all is i f the professional- sport exemption i s revoked, similar to the lockdown last March. But the Scottish Government have been very clear they want professional sport to continue. They see the benefits of professional football to the country, not only to the players but the people who are able to watch it and read about it and talk about it. There has been no indication at all that the exemption is going to be removed.
But how concerned are you for football?
I have to be honest, it’s definitely a worry. We have a three-week lockdown in place and I would love to be able to come back and say we can get football back. If that’s the reality, then brilliant. But if the last ten months has taught us anything, it’s that nobody knows what’s around the corner.
It was only just before Christmas there was talk of vaccines and everyone was quite positive. Then there’s a new strain and it feels like all bets are off again, so it’s definitely a concern. But with the Tier 4 restrictions, we are doing everything we can to prevent us going back to the initial lockdown we had last March.
Can Championship clubs afford being tested weekly for Covid in order to keep the league going?
They will all agree to that. I’m sure that they are very grateful to the government for the financial support (£500,000 for each Championship club) that’s been given to the vast majority of Scottish football. That money can make sure players are tested to give us that increased level of comfort alongside the protocols we have already got.
Premiership clubs are unhappy they were only offered loans by the Scottish Government as opposed to the grants handed out to lower league clubs. What are the SFA doing about this?
We had no input into it, so we just need to deal with it. I totally accept Premiership clubs have had a huge amount of costs because they have been testing and playing for longer than everyone else. I can understand their frustration and that point has absolutely been made to the Scottish Government. It was brought up in a call I had with the government earlier on Monday and we will have another meeting to discuss exactly how that looks. Brexit has also been a complication for the government in terms of finances and interest rates. It’s taken them a bit of time to sort all of that out. But I am aware of the needs of clubs and I reiterate it to the government every time I speak about how quickly we need to move on this.
I don’t think the government is under any illusions as to how important (football) is. Not to defend them, but they have had to find a whole lot of funding for a whole lot of different businesses. They need to make the books balance, so it’s down to them how they split the money up.
Are you surprised no Scottish club has gone bust during this crisis?
The government funding was really timely because clubs would have been hoping to have fans back in by January. The grants that clubs from the Championship down have got will cover that income in the vast majority of cases. But from a Premiership perspective, it’s been more challenging. Even those clubs who could get fans in, it was costing them money due to the limited numbers involved. I’d understand completely if Premiership clubs are looking towards the end of the season and really starting to feel the squeeze. I’m not saying things are reaching a perilous situation but that could happen given the circumstances.
How would you describe the current relationship between football and the Scottish Government?
The relationship is good. The First Minister has a really difficult job and has to make difficult decisions because she is worried about the health of a nation. We absolutely have to play a part in that but the relationship is as good as it can be. We are very aware of the privilege we have. We are under no illusions about the scrutiny we are under. We want the protocols to be adhered to absolutely, 100 per cent. We don’t want any Covid cases to come out of football. But there is not a huge amount of transmission within clubs. Look at what is happening with the English Premier League and see the numbers t hey are having on an ever-increasing basis. We’ve not really seen that.