The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
No-selfies plea as Asghar tells fans to keep their distance
Dundee United sporting director Tony Asghar has pleaded with fans to keep their distance from players as the club copes with the coronavirus crisis.
Prompted or not by the drama in Aberdeen, which has seen the Dons’ match against St Johnstone in Perth postponed, the Tangerines have urged supporters to refrain from asking for autographs and selfies.
Ahead of the Tannadice club’s trip to Motherwell today, Asghar said: “With the football season under way, we still all have exceptional challenges to endure with Covid-19 and the safety of our whole community is paramount.
“The club has worked tirelessly, and with great expense, to adhere to restrictions and measures implemented from the SFA/SPFL Joint Response Group to make sure our players, coaches and performance staff are tested twice a week and conform to all medical advice to be able to train and play matches.
“Our hope is that by doing this in the short term, we will soon see supporters at matches and players will eventually return to a normal working environment.
“However, I must stress that it is important that our fans support us during this time.
“Over the past few weeks, there have been attempts made to approach players at the High-Performance Centre (HPC) at the University of St Andrews to sign shirts and take selfies.
“This is not acceptable and could seriously jeopardise the health of the players and also impact on the continuation our competitive matches.
“Your support is fundamental to our players and staff but, at this present time, we cannot have anyone other than players and staff attending the HPC or the stadium on match days or approaching the players until we have clear indications of a change in the process.
“Our players and staff are well aware of the ramifications of this virus but they also find it difficult to turn down an advance of a fan as is human nature, especially for the type of player we have at Dundee United,” added Asghar.
“However, I also know the core support of Dundee United FC will also adhere to this, so please spread the word to others. The time will come for selfies and shirt signing if we can continue working within the guidelines.”