Players urged to spread ‘stay at home’ message

Scotland’s footballers have been urged to join the fight against the coronavirus.

Jason Leitch, the Scottish Government’s national clinical director, wants players to use social media to spread the message to their followers that it is vital people stay at home to tackle the spread of the killer virus.

Celtic skipper Scott Brown and Rangers boss Steven Gerrard are among those who have taken to sites like Twitter and Instagram to plead with fans to stay indoors.

Now Leitch has made a direct appeal to the country’s football stars asking them to keep up the good work.

He said in a video posted on the Scottish Football Association’s Twitter account: “Many of you have large followings. You are influencers – way more influential than the likes of me – so I need you to take that message out to those who will listen to you.

“We can’t have gatherings in the park, we can’t have kids meeting in folks’ houses because the virus will spread and people will lose their lives.

“We’re not messing around any more so we really need you to take that very, very seriously.

“We’ll come out the other end of this but I really need you to take this message and take it to everybody, both those people you care about as individuals and also those you influence around the country.”

Leitch also says the country’s clubs have an important role to play while Scotland battles the pandemic threat.

“It’s similar for the clubs,” he added. “Clubs have to be really responsible.

“You have got a big influence, you’ve got big fan bases.

“Just ask around your local community how you can help.”