Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Legzdins slams SPFL over Dee players’ welfare
SCOTTISH football needs to think again on its policies and the playing of games while Covid-19 cases spread throughout the country.
That’s the view of Dundee goalkeeper Adam Legzdins, who was furious at the situation he and his team-mates found themselves in on Boxing Day.
After a positive Covid case was returned on the morning of their game at Aberdeen, the Dark Blues lost six first-team players with five required to isolate.
With their squad already threadbare, Dundee requested a postponement from the SPFL but were denied.
And Legzdins insists the health risks players were exposed to in that situation was unacceptable.
“There are seven of us who have young babies. Some of us have older relatives and different levels of vulnerability,” the goalkeeper said.
“Now we are wondering if we’re part of this where we might pick it up today or tomorrow.
“It is completely unfair to put players in the situation to go home after a match – do I want to go home and cuddle my ninemonth-old baby?
“I don’t understand the situation we were put in.
“For two games to be postponed but Sunday’s not to be, I don’t understand the logic.
“It’s a shame because everyone wants to see a competitive game of football.
“Aberdeen were restricted to 500 fans and they’ll say that wasn’t fair to them, too.
“I just think it’s an unfair situation to put professional sportspeople in.
“We are professionals at the end of the day and people are dealing with far worse. I don’t take that for granted.
“But when you drop five players on the morning of a game to make it 11 missing and you put players in positions where they could pick up a positive test today, tomorrow...
“I didn’t feel comfortable with it. I didn’t enjoy the situation the club was put in.
“I’m flabbergasted we were put in that situation.”
An SPFL vote last week elected to postpone the last fixture of 2021 and the first of 2022 – the Dundee derby – but play matches on Boxing Day.
That was after new measures were introduced by the Scottish Government to restrict attendances of outdoor events to 500 people.
But in playing the round of fixtures on December 26, Legzdins says the governing body has lost sight of what is most important.
He added: “Whatever due diligence that is required to follow these things up on the morning of a game, has that been done?
“If someone shows me a wellbalanced and educated decision was made today when you are already down to 500 fans…
“We’re talking about a pandemic here. A situation that is well above football.
“Why have they moved two games but not the third? For scheduling reasons? Are we really letting scheduling reasons overtake medical decisions?
“Who cares if games can’t be fitted in? That can wait.
“People’s families and the general public is more important.”
Dundee came into the fixture with only 14 available players, three of them goalkeepers.
The squad was so stretched 40-year-old assistant manager Dave Mackay was registered as a member of the playing staff to take a place on the bench.
Aberdeen, meanwhile, had choices in reserve and two subs in Connor McLennan and Niall McGinn played a part in the winning goal by Lewis Ferguson.
And Legzdins insists that disparity was unfair on Dundee.
“It’s frustrating and it was compounded by losing the game,” he added.
“We had a set of lads who put in everything, put everything aside and really went out to battle in a game where we couldn’t make substitutions.
“I don’t know how you go into a competitive game knowing you can’t make three outfield substitutions. How is that a level playing field?
“It’s frustrating to be talking about this when you should be talking about a game of football.
“To think it didn’t contribute to the game would be completely naive.”