Aberdeen’s crowd test event over the weekend looks to have gone very well, with chairman Dave Cormack claiming on Twitter they could have hosted 3,000 fans for the match against Kilmarnock.
Only 300 were in attendance for the Scottish Government pilot, with the processes of the Scottish Premiership side put under the spotlight.
The same occurred in the Highlands as Celtic took on Ross County.
Now Cormack is urging the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to sanction more tests with higher capacities.
He wrote on Twitter: “Football has implemented the most stringent of precautions at huge cost. We could’ve ensured safety of 3,000 yesterday. Chartered Jet to Stavanger cost us double to ensure socially distancing, yet BA flights to London are packed. Trusting Scottish Government allows more fans and more tests!”
https://twitter.com/CormackDavie/status/1305254063743926273
Pittodrie has a capacity of 22,199, so if they can already safely host 3,000 people then Celtic Park can surely welcome thousands of supporters back to Paradise when local lockdown measures ease too?
Nobody is expecting full houses anytime soon or authorities to sanction crowds that put public safety in jeopardy but hopefully the weekend’s action is the springboard needed to get more people in football grounds.
The Daily Record have reported that the Dons are looking to welcome 750 supporters to Pittodrie for the upcoming fixture against Motherwell.
That would be a significant step forward and hopefully gets the go-ahead.
Celtic will be left waiting on what happens elsewhere in Glasgow but the Scottish champions have, as a club, led the way on testing, returning to training and preparing stadiums over the last few months.
Obviously the Boli Bolingoli debacle negatively impacted our reputation but officials are working tirelessly behind the scenes to get season ticket holders back into Paradise.
Going by Cormack’s comments, that could occur sooner than any pessimistic predictions.
In other news, Preston have rejected a £5m bid for Celtic target Ben Davies.
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