BBC journalist Chris McLaughlin has confirmed that Celtic and the rest of the SPFL can continue to play despite new Scottish government lockdown rules.
This afternoon, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced new measures. Places of worship are to close, with group exercises banned. Schools will also now largely operate via online learning. Only essential journeys are allowed once again.
Worryingly, Sturgeon said that she was more concerned now than she was at any stage of the pandemic back in March (BBC). These new lockdown measures will take place across all of mainland Scotland and will replace the current three-week tier four structure we’ve had to follow since Boxing Day.
Back in March, the Scottish government banned professional sport from being played. This led to football being shut down across the country towards the end of the 2019/20 season. Only in July did the government allow the national game to resume.
But it looks as though Celtic are free to play after McLaughlin clarified the new rules:
Scottish government lockdown rules still perilous looking
If football was to have shut down until the end of January, Celtic would’ve had a big problem. The Hoops already have three games in-hand that they need to play this term. We still have four games remaining this month alone.
Trying to find another spot to throw three games in-hand into the mix as well as the four we could’ve missed in January would’ve been extremely worrying. Not unless the SPFL decided to extend the campaign.
The worry here however is that there’s no guarantee lockdown will end come the close of play in January. The situation is being kept under review by the Scottish government. Should the situation continue to spiral out of control, who’s to say February won’t see us locked down either? And that restrictions won’t be tougher come then?
Listen, there are many more worrying aspects to this than when Celtic will play three games in-hand. It’s most certainly nowhere near the more important things in life. But as Hoops supporters, we’re entitled to bring it up as a genuine potential concern for the club.
If Sturgeon is more worried now than in March, that’s a massively concerning statement for Scottish football. Goodness knows what it means for the game up here in the long-run. Regardless of whether it’s safe for now. It stands to reason that it could put it on hold at any point.
For now, however, it looks like we’re getting a pass.
In other news, Bobby Madden appears to be proud of his Glasgow derby performance on Saturday.
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