The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Pars confirm fans will be locked out
Dunfermline have confirmed that no supporters will be in attendance for their upcoming fixtures against Arbroath and Inverness.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed on Tuesday that outdoor sporting events would be limited to 500 spectators for a three-week period in order to control the spread of the Omicron variant.
The Pars described the lack of notice afforded to football clubs as “incredibly frustrating”.
Following a meeting of Championship sides on Wednesday, the decision was made to continue playing fixtures despite the “onerous” restrictions.
Dunfermline revealed they were a dissenting voice and were keen to postpone the affected fixtures and pursue other options. However, that was not the consensus among second-tier clubs and the Fifers accepted the majority verdict.
But the Pars say accommodating any supporters for the games will be logistically and financially impossible.
A club statement read: “A restricted crowd of 500, which is also subject to a one-metre social distance, is actually worse than a closed door event, as we will still carry a large number of our costs with no revenue in return.
“We will already lose thousands of pounds from pre-orders we had to make for hospitality.
“It also creates potential division between supporters, all of whom are understandably desperate to attend East End Park. Organising an opt-in ballot at such short notice, during a national holiday is hugely complex.
“For all of the above reasons, we have had to make the very difficult decision to play our upcoming matches against Arbroath on December 26 and Inverness on December 29 behind closed doors.”
Dunfermline season ticket holders will be able to watch the games for free
via Pars TV. The club added: “Our preference had been to explore other options with our fellow clubs, such as a three-week break.
“That would give us the opportunity to get more people boosted with their third vaccination and potentially ensure more supporters would be able to attend the rescheduled fixtures.
“However, the consensus view at a meeting of the Championship clubs was to continue to play matches.”
In a clear message to the Scottish Government, the Fife club wrote: “As a business, we suffer from all of the restrictions placed upon the hospitality and
sports sector. We sincerely hope that football clubs, who are the heartbeat of their local community, as DAFC demonstrated in the early days of the vaccines being rolled out, will be able to obtain commensurate support from the Scottish Government.”
● Former Motherwell left-back Aaron Taylorsinclair is training with Dunfermline as he bids to earn a contract with the Pars.
The 30-year-old has been without a club since leaving Livingston last summer, albeit he did spend a period on trial with Southend during the close season.
The Antigua and Barbuda
internationalist boasts more than 300 senior career appearances with the likes of Montrose, Partick Thistle, Doncaster and Plymouth.
Given the Covid protocols involved with adding a new player to the group, Courier Sport understands the Pars intend to be selective with their trialists and Taylorsinclair is very much under consideration for a contract.
Left-back is a problem position for the Pars, with Josh Edwards the club’s only senior player in that position. The club has high hopes for teenager Miller Fenton but he is not deemed ready to be pitched into Championship action.