Pittodrie open
Dons move for fan access on Saturday
The Premiership will welcome back a limited number of fans in a special trial event on Saturday.
Celtic’s visit to Ross County, and St Mirren’s hosting of Hibs have been earmarked to cater for socially-distanced crowds.
And while in each the number is likely to be in the region of just 300, it is hoped that, if successful, they will be followed by progressively larger attendances.
In all cases, it will be Covid-19 permitting.
The match at Ibrox between Rangers and Dundee United was also on the list, until the spike in cases during last week caused lockdown measures to be implemented.
Former Motherwell and Partick Thistle defender, Steven Craigan, attended the UK’S first such test, the Northern Irish Cup Final on July 31, and insists even the small number of fans can make a big difference.
“It was at Windsor Park, Belfast – which can hold up to 18,500 – and they allowed the finalists, Glentoran and Ballymena, to take 250 supporters each,” he said.
“They were housed in the stands behind each goal and, of course, they had to be sociallydistanced.
“Every 10-15 minutes or so, they stuck a message on the tannoy, telling fans to keep their distance from one another.
“I wasn’t there as a fan. I was doing media work in the main stand, and from what I could see, they all stuck to it pretty well.
“When Glentoran won the cup and went over to their end, I think a few youngsters did run down to the front.
“It might gone a bit awry then, but otherwise there wasn’t a problem, and it was voted a big success.
“So much so, in fact, clubs have been letting fans in for friendly matches just now, ahead of the league starting up again in October.”
What struck Craigan most was the difference in atmosphere.
“You are only talking 500 people, not that many at all. But it felt like you were at a proper match,” he said.
“The closed-doors games have been in great, in terms of giving everyone live football to watch. But going to them is a strange experience.
“They are a bit like training-ground games. Players are trying, but it feels like a bit of the passion is missing.
“At Windsor Park, though, you had shouting and singing from the fans – just what you would normally expect at a game.
“But because it was a bit quieter, you could pick out individual shouts, which is not always a good thing as anyone who has played in front of small crowds will testify.
“I really enjoyed it, and I’m look forward to seeing how it works in Scotland.
“It makes sense not to have fans travelling the country when there are still cases of coronavirus occurring,” he said.
“Fans will be getting into the habit of watching the away games live on television or on streams.
“It will be intriguing to see if the habit sticks when the virus goes or comes more under control.