Celts want fans back next week
Club push for Parkhead test return
CELTIC hope to be granted Government permission to let fans back into Parkhead for next weekend’s top flight visit of Motherwell.
Record Sport understands the champions’ showdown with the Fir Park club a week on Sunday has been pencilled in as the potential first pilot
event for Scottish football as the top flight prepares to reopen its turnstiles to a limited number of fans from next month.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed yesterday that fans can begin returning to grounds all over the country from September 14 so long as the spread of coronavirus stays under control.
She also gave the green light for test events to take place before that date to prove that strict protocols can be put in place to keep supporters safe.
As we revealed on Wednesday, rugby bosses hope to open up BT Murrayfield for the first time since lockdown next Friday, for the second leg of a PRO14 double-header between Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh.
Now Celtic, who have been working in tandem with the SRU on plans to keep spectators socially distanced in a bio-secure environment, are also seeking approval from Holyrood to roll out similar measures for the Motherwell match just two days later.
Talks between football authorities and St Andrew’s House are set to continue over the next 24 hours as the finer details of how to get supporters back inside grounds are thrashed out.
But it’s expected that even if the SRU and Celtic are allowed to roll out practice runs next week they will be restricted to opening the doors to no more than 1000 fans at each event.
A source said: “It’s all about proving to the Government and the health experts that robust plans can be put in place which will allow fans to watch games without risking public health.
“It’s also important that the fans are also given the confidence of knowing that all possible measures are being taken to make sure they can safely get back to supporting their teams.”