Top health expert’s football restart warning

Scottish Government health official Jason Leitch has cautioned that August 1 is a very provisional date for football’s return.

Scotland’s national clinical director also stressed that team training would not be allowed under current restrictions.

After talks with Professor Leitch and Sports Minister Joe FitzPatrick, the Scottish game’s joint response group recommended lifting the suspension of all football activity from June 11.

SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said the government had given the green light to resume training in June, with a Premiership kick-off of August 1 now a “firm target”.

However, Prof Leitch clarified that training would be very limited during phase one of the route out of lockdown, which kicked in on Friday. Non-contact activities such as golf, tennis and physically-distanced, oneto-one training for athletes returned under the new guidelines.

Prof Leitch said: “I’m not sure people should write August 1 on their calendars quite yet.

“With a fair wind and the virus behaving itself, and of course the population behaving itself, there is reward to the two metres and there’s reward for not mixing your families.

“So I think you could maybe put in a shaded pencil on August 1 but don’t get overexcited.”

Prof Leitch added: “The other thing we can’t tell you is when phase two will start.”

Phase two allows for the “resumption of professional sport in line with public health advice” and a review is expected on a three-weekly basis.

Professor Jason Leitch