Ross County goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw has admitted he can’t wait for fans to return ahead of their match against Celtic next weekend.
Celtic take the trip to Dingwall after the international break, and it looks like being a test event for spectators. County chairman Roy MacGregor has already sent plans away to potentially have a number of fans in the low hundreds attend the contest (BBC).
The BBC has reported that Rangers’ home match with Dundee United as well a third clash are also set to be test events for fans returning to stadiums.
And Laidlaw, speaking in comments published by Not The Old Firm, has admitted he’s hoping to have supporters in the stadium for next Saturday’s game.
“It’s good that we can get fans back in. Hopefully, we will be able to get even more in after that. It will be good to get a bit of atmosphere because it’s not good playing in front of an empty stadium. Just before the game, at the start and when goals go in, there’s no real celebration from fans, there’s no banter or atmosphere.
“It is different, but everyone is kind of used to it now. It still feels like a bounce match. It will be good when we start getting fans back in through the gates and start to feel a bit more real.
“It will be good to get the home fans in. They will have missed going to games as well, not just us. The sooner we go to games, the better.”
A step in the right direction
The test matches, should they happen, will follow a successful trial event at Murrayfield last week. 700 supporters were allowed in to watch a rugby match Edinburgh against Glasgow Warriors.
National Clinical Director Jason Leitch labeled the event “excellent”, and stated that the match went through “without an obvious hitch” (BBC).
That will likely come as no surprise to Celtic, who saw an application to have their home match with Motherwell be a test event rejected (BBC).
But Murrayfield hasn’t been the only successful test event in Britain and Ireland in recent times. A pre-season contest between Brighton and Chelsea raked in 2,500 supporters, whilst the Irish Cup final brought in 500 spectators. It’s all relative to the size of the stadiums of course.
It would be a massive boost for football fans around the country if all three test events next weekend went ahead and managed to go through without a hitch.
It’s time for the government to put some trust and football, and there’s no point delaying it any longer.
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