Exception to rule should have applied here
ST MIRREN are entitled to feel outraged at the fact this game went ahead. The abject result had nothing to do with it, Jim Goodwin made his feelings abundantly clear before a ball was kicked. No one at the Paisley club would dispute for a second that ordinarily the show must go on in the shadow of Covid-19. The fact players are returning positive tests should come as a surprise to no one. Contrary to the belief, they are not in a protective bubble 24/7. They have wives and children potentially exposing them to the virus. Scenarios like this are unfortunately inevitable. Had three outfield players been excluded from the match, Goodwin would have had no such complaints. He’d have patched a side together and got on with it — just as he’d have done if they’d sustained knocks in training. But goalkeepers are a different matter altogether. Losing one is hugely inconvenient. Losing two is disastrous. Losing a third makes life impossible — leading to the emergency loan move for Hearts back-up keeper Bobby Zlamal. In this matter, the SPFL were in a tight spot. Frankly, if games are postponed on the basis of one positive test being returned, this season won’t end. In the vast majority of cases, clubs will
have to roll with the punches. But this was the very definition of an exceptional circumstance and it should have been recognised as such. With a gap in both side’s schedule next midweek, it should have been played then. St Mirren rightly will point to the recent incidents with Aberdeen and Celtic and ask why they are being treated differently. Both of those clubs each had two matches postponed at Nicola Sturgeon’s behest due to the behaviour of eight Dons’ players and the day-tripping Boli Bolingoli. The difference in those instances was that they were clear examples of irresponsible behaviour. Neither Jak Alnwick nor Dean Lyness could be accused of that yet their club has suffered, and then some.