Queens issue fresh apology for ‘error of judgment’ in having Galloway at match
Queen of the South have admitted a "total error of judgment" in allowing politician George Galloway and his family to attend their Boxing Day game against Dundee.
Queens apologised on Sunday night to "supporters who have been upset by his attendance" but followed up on their brief statement with another apology yesterday.
Like there st of mainland Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway moved into the top level of coronavirus restrictions on Boxing Day, meaning no supporters should have been admitted into grounds.
The new message read: "Reflecting on our statement to the fans last night we realise that we should have given a fuller apology.
"George Galloway was granted permission to attend our game against Dundee when Dumfries and Galloway was in tier one and fans were being allowed back into matches.
"We however accept that we should' ve re addressed the decision once the rules changed and should' ve informed Mr Galloway that he could no longer attend the match.
"We realise it was a total error of judgment and we should have been more considerate of our loyal supporters.
"We would again like to issue an unreserved apology to our fans and would like to reassure them that we fully accept and understand their anger. It was a genuine mistake that shouldn't have been made.
"As we navigate our way through some tough times both on and off the park your valued support is needed more than ever."
Former Labour and Respect Party MP Galloway had sent a tweet from Palmerston on Saturday after Dundee's 3-1 Scottish Championship victory.
Defending his attendance, he later replied to a Queens fan on Twitter: "I live in D&G. My family have FIVE season tickets. I'm about to be a sponsor. I'm spreading the word about the club to millions of people."
The Dumfries club had initially organised a ballot for season-ticket holders to apply for the limited space available for fans at the game, but that was shelved on 20 December when post-christmas Covid-19 restrictions were upgraded by the Scottish Government.
Police Scotland are looking into the incident. A statement read :" We are looking into the matter to establish if any offences were committed and whether any further action may be appropriate."
The Scottish Football Association is also expected to look at the matter and it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Queens are punished for Galloway’s appearance.
The strict guidelines that have been draw up by Scottish football’ s Covid-19 joint response group state that only ambulance staff, club directors and senior personnel – with no guests – analysts, scouts, the match delegate, referee observer, the stadium announcer and a screen operative can view matches from the “amber zone”.
Queen of the South are back in action in the Championship this evening when they take on third-placed Raith Rovers at Stark’s Park. Their next fixture at Palmerston comes on Saturday 2 January, when they host Ayr United.
In what has been adi sappointing season so far, the Doonhamers are sitting bottom of the division with on wins in their past four matches.