Saints fans’ fury over Dons postponement

Perth supporters hit out at ‘reckless’ Aberdeen players after today’s match is called off

Furious St Johnstone fans have joined the first minister in slamming a group of “reckless” Aberdeen players who broke coronavirus protocols to visit a pub, resulting in today’s match being abandoned.

Two Aberdeen footballers tested positive for Covid-19 and another six were told to self-isolate after the group went out drinking in the Granite City.

Angry Saints supporters joined Nicola Sturgeon in blaming the eight firstteam players for the second game of the season being suspended.

Jamie Beatson, editor of unofficial St Johnstone website WeArePerth, said: “In the current climate public health has to come first, so I can fully understand why the game has been postponed.

“That said, it seems pretty clear that this has come about due to the recklessness and utter disregard for the Covid-19 protocols by a large group of Aberdeen players.

“How the fallout of this is handled will have a major impact on the rest of the season.”

Dan Shek, who runs Fair City Saints supporters club, said: “The total disregard from the Aberdeen players is shocking.

“They’ve ignored the guidance and don’t think it applies to them. It’s not just disregard for football fans, it’s disregard for the general public.

“There’s strict guidelines that have allowed football back but they’ve thought that doesn’t apply to them and done what they want.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was also “furious” with the actions of the offending players and said the breach was “completely unacceptable”.

She said: “When a football club ends up with players infected with Covid – and let’s remember that this is not through bad luck but clear breaches of the rules – we cannot take even a small risk that they then spread the infection to other parts of the country.”

Aberdeen FC chairman Dave Cormack said the club is treating the issue “with the seriousness it deserves”.

Ms Sturgeon also announced taking customer contact details will become mandatory across Scotland’s hospitality sector next week.

Government guidance currently states pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants should collect customer details to allow contact tracing, but this will become law from August 14.

A total of 101 cases have been confirmed in the Aberdeen cluster, an increase of 22 from Thursday, with 313 close contacts traced.

“They’ve ignored the guidance and don’t think it applies to them. It’s not just disregard for football fans, it’s disregard for the general public.

DAN SHEK OF FAIR CITY SAINTS

Picture: Gareth Jennings.