AN OPEN AND CLOSED CASE
Murray believes playing in empty grounds might be only way to finish campaign
IAN MURRAY experienced a deserted
San Siro with Rangers and is convinced playing behind closed doors is the ‘best worst-case scenario’ for Scottish football to bring the current season to a conclusion amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
Murray had not long moved to Ibrox from Hibernian 15 years ago when Inter Milan were forced to play their home Champions League group games in front of no supporters because of crowd trouble the previous season.
It made for an eerie atmosphere inside the famous arena as the Italians eased to a 1-0 victory in September 2005.
Despite the lack of home backing, the Italian giants won all three closed-door matches to top Group H, before going out of the tournament to Villarreal on away goals in the quarter-finals.
And, if PFA Scotland’s concerns over the health and safety of players can be allayed, Murray insists that his unusual experience in Milan means he would favour games being played in empty grounds to some alternatives being mooted for the conclusion to the campaign.
Neil Lennon has claimed Celtic should be awarded the Premiership title if the season can’t be completed, but such a scenario would open up a can of worms right through the divisions.
Murray’s Airdrieonians side currently sit third in the League One table, just five points adrift of leaders Raith Rovers and on course for, at least, a promotion play-off place with eight games to play.
He said: ‘That game with Rangers against Inter in the San Siro is the only time I’ve ever played behind closed doors in a competitive match.
‘The biggest difference is actually in the warm-up, when you come out on to the pitch and there’s no one there. But once the game starts, the dynamics are the same.
‘I don’t recall the fact there wasn’t a crowd there played a significant part in the match.
‘I know people will argue that it helps the away side because the home team doesn’t have their supporters there. Yes and no. There are pros and cons to it.
‘Players are often used to playing in front of small crowds and there’s nobody there watching when we are training, so it’s the build-up that’s slightly different in an empty stadium.
‘But for the actual game, the 90 minutes, it won’t change a lot of things. Some clubs might feel they are at a disadvantage because of a lack of their supporters in their stadium but something has to give. We just cannot expect it to be a normal situation.
‘However I’m sure we’ll find a common solution. Managers and players want to play the games and we want to play in the fairest way possible.’
PFA Scotland chief Fraser Wishart has already told the SPFL that their ‘members should not be
asked to put their health and safety at risk by playing games behind closed doors’ given the possibility of the coronavirus being transmitted through contact with opponents.
But Murray added: ‘The bottom line is we would be prepared to play behind closed doors. It’s not ideal for us, it’s not ideal for the supporters and it’s not ideal for the league — but it might be the only way we get this season finished.
‘In my opinion, while the health and safety of the squad is paramount, it’s probably the best worst-case scenario. The best-case scenario is we have a couple of weeks off, we catch up with the games and then we get back to normal — but who knows how things are going to pan out?
‘In a worst-case scenario, we have to play behind closed doors but I would have thought that is far more preferable for everybody involved than finishing the season now, with all the ramifications if that happened.’