A report in the Scottish Sun has shed light on some of the details regarding getting Celtic supporters back into football stadiums.
The newspaper has reported that Celtic have already made a pitch to the Scottish Government regarding using Sunday’s clash against Motherwell at Parkhead as a test event.
Celtic reportedly want as many as 1400 supporters to be allowed in to see their team this weekend. However, the Scottish Sun believes that the government would only look to accept half of that. That’s despite the fact Celtic Park holds a capacity of just over 60,000.
The Sun has also given some detail on how fans will be chosen to attend. Tickets will be made available through a ballot, with the club looking to select a mixture of both younger and older supporters to attend. There is still no scope for away supporters to attend.
This is a big step forward for football if it comes to fruition. However, it’s disappointing to see the government look to half the amount of supporters Celtic want at the game.
A steady growth that won’t expand rapidly
If there’s one thing the Scottish Government can be described as during this pandemic then it’s cautious.
Only allowing 700 fans into an over 60,000 seater stadium feels a little petty. Particularly when you think of how many shopping centres and superstores are crowded with people even today.
The government will likely feel that they don’t want too much congregating outside the ground. Having 1400 people may frighten them a tad as they do all they can to avoid a second wave.
However, you can’t help but feel it’s a little contradictory when you see how busy other social hubs are these days. 1400 people going to Celtic Park could very easily socially distance if they were placed in the correct areas.
What this proves, in any case, is that this will be a slow burn. The days of capacity stadiums still appear to be some way down the line, and given the government’s caution throughout the pandemic, they won’t be rushing to bring them back.
But at the very least, a successful test event against Motherwell on Sunday would be a very nice building block. Hopefully, everything runs smoothly on the day.
In other news, one Ferencvaros star has been gushing praise over Celtic.
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