Jason Leitch has revealed his simple message to Celtic and Rangers supporters ahead of the Glasgow Derby:
“Stay at home”.
There had been persistent rumours that the game, scheduled for the 21st March, was under threat. Last week’s fevered celebrations across Glasgow caused alarm in Holyrood. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon condemned Rangers supporters’ flagrant Covid breaches as “disgraceful and selfish” in the Scottish Parliament.
Justice Secretary Humza Yousef warned both clubs that the responsibility was on them to provide appropriate messaging to supporters. He was part of a meeting which took place last night, with Minister for Public Health and Sport Mairi Gougeon, Police Scotland and Glasgow City council also involved.
Leitch described the talks, including both clubs, to Tam Cowan and Stuart Cosgrove on today’s episode of Off the Ball (BBC Radio Scotland, 12/03, 44.44).
The Senior Clinical Advisor to the Scottish Government said:
“The message is stay at home. It’s as simple as that.
“Last night, we had a cabinet meeting led by the Minister for Justice Humza Yousaf and the Minister for Health Mairi Gougeon and the two clubs, Police Scotland’s chief constable, me and the local authority, and at that we all decided the message was to come from all of us.
“The message was to be straightforward, stay at home if you’re a fan.
“Watch the game on the telly, celebrate digitally. Of course we hope in the fullness of time to have a celebration. But for now, stay at home.”
Clear messaging the priority as Celtic and Rangers gear up for Glasgow Derby
The fixture schedule has given everyone involved in the Glasgow Derby some much-needed breathing room. Perhaps, the momentum from last weekend’s shameful antics has ceased for the time being.
You can imagine it would be a far larger problem for the Government to negotiate had the game taken place this weekend. With time for the news cycle to pass and heated rhetoric to die down, there’s more optimism instead of fear about the consequences of playing the Glasgow Derby.
Clear messaging has to be the priority, however. While you could (reasonably) argue that it’s not just down to the constituent clubs to send a warning, there is some responsibility involved from both a Celtic and rival perspective.
We genuinely hope the match can be played without incident.
READ MORE: A Glasgow Derby boost for the Bhoys.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
