Andalusian authorities reduce restrictions days after keeping Celtic fans out

By David Walton

September 14, 2021

A decrease in Andalusian Covid restrictions has been announced today, only days after the same authorities halted Celtic fans from attending the Real Betis trip.

President of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno, announced the decision tonight. This will mean that events such as theatre and cinema trips, auditoriums, and concerts can now press ahead with 100% capacity levels.

Moreno cited the success of the vaccination programme and the responsibility of the Andalusians.

The move to Level 1 is due to take place on Thursday – the date Celtic travel to Seville. It’s unclear what the new rules mean for football stadiums. However, Betis announced yesterday that they were looking to have a 60% capacity application accepted.

As things stand, Celtic fans aren’t necessarily banned from entering Andalusia. However, there have been no tickets sold to away supporters in a bid to keep them out.

It’s a massive frustration for the Hoops support who must’ve thought they were set for their first Euro away day since Copenhagen in February 2020.

Andalusian restrictions easing raises an eyebrow for Celtic supporters

It’s clear that Andalusia feels it’s on the road to recovery regarding Covid. It’s difficult then to understand as to why Celtic fans couldn’t be given tickets.

What’s the harm if supporters are vaccinated? They would present no greater danger to the Andalusian population than the locals themselves. This is the kind of restriction that vaccinations are supposed to help halt.

Had there been rising infections and massive concerns sweeping the region, you could understand it. But this latest decision allows 100% capacity in theatres, concerts, cinemas etc. It’s encouraging mass mixing.

It’ll be interesting to see how many Betis fans are allowed into the game. But for Celtic supporters the message hasn’t changed. There are no tickets available for away fans regardless of the restrictions easing.

Celtic still have Euro trips pencilled in against Ferencvaros and Bayer Leverkusen. With a bit of luck, they’ll have greater joy bagging tickets for the games in Hungary and Germany.

All in all, it’s great for the Andalusians that they’re getting their freedoms back. The more restrictions around Europe and the world are eased, the closer we get back to normality. But you can’t help but wonder why they were so keen to shut us out in the first place.

In other news, Celtic and other clubs handed raw deal after SFA release Scottish Govt statement