A LOW BLOW
SFA fury as Holyrood limits Hampden crowd to just 600
THE SFA were left seething last night after fan numbers for next weekend’s Scottish Cup final were restricted to a paltry 600.
Supporters were set to be locked out of the season’s finale between Hibernian and St Johnstone while Hampden was prepared for Euro 2020 games by UEFA.
However, after lobbying and then persuading Europe’s governing body to let supporters in, the SFA sought approval from the Scottish Government for a crowd of 2,000 at the national stadium. But they were furious when news came through that numbers would be limited to just 600 due to two-metre social distancing rules.
While Hibs and St Johnstone have been restricted to an allocation of just 300 tickets each by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will allow sporting venues across England to welcome back spectators from Monday.
Large seated outdoor venues will be able to admit up to 10,000 spectators, with the English Premier League pushing its penultimate round of matches to Tuesday and Wednesday so every club can play one game in front of fans before the end of the season on May 23.
The SFA confirmed in a statement: ‘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 2,000 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 twometre 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. ‘We have notified both finalists, Hibernian and St Johnstone, and while the number is less than anticipated we look forward to a limited number of fans attending the cup final.’ Last month National Clinical Director Professor Jason Leitch raised hopes of the cup final being used as a ‘gateway event’ with a far larger number of fans in attendance. Speaking on April 7, he said: ‘If you remember, on April 26 we want to move the country into Level 3, then three weeks later, all being well, we will move again. That’s when we’ll start to think about capacities at festivals or at theatres, or at football stadia. ‘So we will again think about what that looks like, perhaps for a few hundred people initially and then some, let’s call them “gateway events” — big events that we know are coming, from the World Mountain Bike Championships to the Scottish Cup final. We need to make sure we make them as accessible as possible, if Covid allows.’ A Hampden source told Sportsmail: ‘Jason Leitch raised an expectation which ultimately the government couldn’t deliver on.’ Hibs added in a statement: ‘We are currently considering the fairest and best way to distribute the tickets and will let supporters know on Friday.’ Meanwhile, St Johnstone will remain in ‘constant dialogue’ with the authorities ahead of the cup final amid their ongoing coronavirus issues. They lost four players before their semi-final win over St Mirren following two positive Covid tests and were without a further four first-team members for the 4-0 league defeat by Celtic on Wednesday night. Emergency loan signing Zdenek Zlamal was in goal for the Parkhead defeat. Callum Davidson’s squad did not train in between those games but the club expect to have some players back for tomorrow’s Premiership finale against Livingston. They also hope to have a full complement for the cup final but are working hard to avoid further problems. Scott Boyd, head of football operations, said: ‘The club can confirm we face an ongoing situation with Covid-19 and the self-isolation process. We are in constant dialogue with the SFA and Scottish Government. ‘As always, the health and wellbeing of everyone at the club will be our priority. On a positive note, we are delighted to welcome back a number of our senior players into the group and they will be available for selection against Livingston.’