Celtic fans have rallied behind Peter Lawwell’s call for football grounds to re-open to supporters.
It is more than four months since over 50,000 fans cheered Neil Lennon’s side to a 5-0 win over St Mirren with no sign of when any fans will be allowed back inside Celtic Park.
On Tuesday night Celtic will play in front of 5,000 fans at the Parc des Princes against Paris Saint Germain as countries throughout Europe take the first step back towards playing in front of supporters.
This week barbers and pubs have reopened across Scotland, public transport is running as normal but with no word of football matches Lawwell has gone public with a request to the Scottish Government. In a fortnight it should n’t be too much to ask for to allow 20,000 into an outdoor sports stadium.
The Joint Response Group for football has been in daily talks with the Government but it was only last Friday that clubs were allowed to play in friendly matches- with a choice of 11 possible opponents.
Earlier on Friday Boris Johnson announced his expectation that stadia should be open to the public again in England. During Lockdown the friction between Edinburgh and London has been obvious with Lawwell’s request tonight picking up on the announcement from the UK Prime Minister.
The ball is literally in the court of the Scottish Government, pilot schemes could be held on the first weekend of the SPFL Premiership. In reality half of the clubs in the Premiership have capacities that are five times the number of Season Ticket sales.
Celtic have the opposite situation with 80% of their capacity sold to Season Ticket holders but a 5,000 crowd against Hamilton on August 2 would be a welcome step towards the new normal.
Celtic Football Club statement.https://t.co/7VlEEU6CzW
— Celtic Football Club (in ??) (@CelticFC) July 17, 2020
this just screams were skint we need matchday revenue
— Blair Mulgrew (@MulgrewBlair) July 17, 2020
Let’s get the supporters back. Pubs, buses, shops, trains and planes all functioning but not outdoor spectators! Let’s get the necessary measures in place and get the fans back in.
— Tictop67 (@toptim77) July 17, 2020
Given the Covid virus appears to be waning in Scotland, it should be safe enough to permit access to stadium for Scottish based fans if current trends continue to the start of the season!?…I’d be more wary of permitting access to fans travelling from outwith the country though!
— Marko Rollo (@TheWebsEdge) July 17, 2020
Unfortunately, the sheer idea of football fans returning in number to the stands around the country, is making our Government baulk.I really hope we have some influence because I’d say it’s one of the last things on the agenda.I can’t help but being excited at the thought though!
— Fred (@crocoman07) July 17, 2020
Quite right, no reason why we should be behind England in this
— Martin Willmott (@mwillmott68) July 17, 2020
