Players lost sight of duty to game

There appears to be zero sympathy for the Aberdeen players who’ve caused the cancellation of their game at St Johnstone, and that’s just among Dons fans.

The players who breached Covid-19 protocol in a bar after the Rangers game last weekend have attracted the fire of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who said they had blatantly broken the rules.

It remains to be seen if they’ve jeapordised only their own prospects or also that of the wider game.

It will be intriguing to see if any punishments are handed out in terms of points deduction, or fines, or whether simply being without eight first team members for the next few games is sufficient penalty.

Dave Cormack, the Pittodrie chairman, will be apoplectic after the hard graft he and Aberdeen fans have put in to ensure that their season started brightly.

The race to get this season under way rested on the desperate need for Sky TV income.

Now the broadcaster, which effectively subsidises the game here, finds their extensive and expensive outside broadcast facilities sitting idle in Perth, and costing them lost revenue.

Will they decide that the clubs should share in that economic hit?

Derek McInnes is entitled to rage at the lack of professionalism shown by so many of his players, and the ramifications could be grim with his side now at a serious disadvantage in being significantly weakened in forthcoming games.

It also remains to be seen what impact there may be on the wider game.

Any halting of the sport after just getting going again would cause a huge amount of anger and bitterness directed at the individuals concerned.

Professional football demands certain sacrifices that the average worker doesn’t need to make.

Strict attention to diet, alcohol intake, and general standards of behaviour are expected of top pros.

They’re well rewarded for foregoing some pleasures that the rest of us can indulge in without restriction.

Discipline and rigour is part of the package in being a serious athlete, and in a situation like this, these players have lost sight of their duty to the supporters, the club, and the game itself by their short-sighted and selfish behaviour.

Brains in head – and feet

There’s a great after-dinner tale where the legendary Hibs boss Eddie Turnbull, questioned at half-time over his tactics by Alan Gordon, who was also an accountant, told the striker: “The trouble with you son, is that all your brains are in your head.”

Football players, of course, aren’t all as daft as the Aberdeen players mentioned above.

In a week when the Scottish Government have been taken to task over the results from this year’s Higher examinations, Dundee United can be proud that five of their academy graduates have distinguished themselves with good grades in their school results.

These lads are all living the dream, but they’re wise, in a precarious profession, to give themselves an educational back-up.

Football is a short career – injury, illness, loss of form, and the general intrusion of life’s realities, can all thwart a young man’s ambitions and hopes.

The players concerned have proven they have brains in both their head and feet.

“It also remains to be seen what impact there may be on the wider game

Picture: Kenny Elrick. Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack.