St Johnstone and Hibs to have just 300 fans for final

THERE will be 600 supporters at the Scottish Cup final between Hibernian and St Johnstone on 22 May. The Scottish Football Association applied for a crowd of 2000 to be accommodated at Hampden after UEFA approved the plan to admit supporters to the Euro 2020 venue.

But only around a third of that figure – and 1.15 per cent of the national stadium’s capacity – will be allowed in to cheer on their side for the showpiece occasion due to social distancing requirements. An SFA statement read: “Following dispensation from UEFA to allow a restricted number of supporters to attend the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park on Saturday May 22, the Scottish FA approached the Scottish Government for 2000 fans to be accommodated using the approved UEFA EURO 2020 stadium seating template.

“The Scottish Government has today confirmed that a two-metre physical distancing configuration must be used, not the 1.5m configuration that will be in operation for UEFA EURO 2020.

“At two-metre physical distancing, the number of spectators able to be hosted in the approved areas of the stadium reduces to 600 in total – 300 per club.”

“The club is considering the fairest and best way to distribute the tickets and will let supporters know tomorrow [Friday]. Thank you for your patience.”

St Johnstone, meanwhile, have revealed that they remain in talks with the Scottish Government and the Scottish FA following an outbreak of Covid-19 at McDiarmid Park.

The Saints announced last week that four players had tested positive for the virus and entered self-isolation, with Hearts goalkeeper Zdenek Zlamal being brought to Perth on a short-term emergency loan.

A statement from Scott Boyd, the club’s head of football operations, released on Saints’ website read: “The football club can today confirm that we face an ongoing situation with Covid-19 and the self-isolation process.

“We are in constant dialogue with the SFA and the Scottish Government about this current situation.”