Chris Sutton has launched a spectacular attack on the Scottish Government for bringing football to its knees.
Last weekend almost 50,000 fans attended matches at Ibrox and Hampden but this weekend the stadiums will virtually be locked up with just 500 fans allowed to attend. Hearts have decided to leave Tynecastle empty for the visit of Ross County rather than ballot fans and make arrangements with 20,000 seats left empty.
Thousands of Celtic fans have been denied the chance to watch their side against St Johnstone but they can get on trains and buses to go shopping in Perth or join the bargain hunters at Braehead, Silverburn or other indoor shopping centres where vaccine passports aren’t needed- unlike at football stadiums.
The picture is confusing but what most fans can agree with is that when sanctions come in football is first to be hit with little or no consideration given to fans or clubs.
Highlighting the hypocrisy, Sutton lets rip in the Daily Record:
Christmas Day is tomorrow but Nicola Sturgeon and her cronies have already booted the stuffing out of Scottish football. Again. The decision to cap the numbers at 500 for spectators at outdoor sporting events is a baffling generalisation for me.
But, to be quite honest, that’s nothing compared to what came out of the mouths of Sturgeon’s sidekicks John Swinney and Jason Leitch over the past few days. The comments of those two have been a slap in the face to every fan in the country.
Let’s get one thing straight here. I’m not downplaying the significance of a pandemic. I’m not saying football should come before lives. No one in football would say that either.
But the mixed messaging and, frankly, ridiculous comments which have emanated from Holyrood in the past week beggar belief.
Swinney got the ball rolling with his stuff about regretting allowing full numbers of supporters into stadiums last weekend, referencing last Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup Final between Celtic and Hibs, in particular.
The Deputy First Minister and Government made a decision about the game to let it go ahead with a capacity crowd and then came out two days later claiming there is a high danger that it was a superspreader.
Basically, telling anyone outside of the game that anyone who went to Hampden was irresponsible and is helping to spread Omicron. I was there working. He might not have meant that, but that’s the inference I took from it.
To then say: “That’s nobody’s fault. I was one of the people involved in the decision,” is hypocrisy of the highest order. It is someone’s fault then, John. The fault of the people who took the decision.
If that wasn’t enough, Swinney then doubled down ahead of the three Premiership matches which were staged on Wednesday night.
Games in Edinburgh, Paisley and Perth had open doors. The Government’s message there is it is all right to go so long as you are vaccinated or take a negative LFT. Yet he then comes out publicly and actively encourages people not to go to the games.
So if you’ve paid £30 for a ticket for a game, you are just going to burn that money and sit in the house. If the game was called off, you’d be entitled to a refund.
Leitch didn’t help matters with his words as he addressed the decision to limit the numbers to 500 for the games for three weeks.
Throughout this entire pandemic going back to day one, we’ve been told it’s about following the science and working accordingly.
He said: “It’s very difficult to choose a number, you can either choose zero, 10,000 or somewhere in between. There isn’t a particular public health route that takes you to 500 people.
“It’s a judgement, it’s of course based on trying to keep the risk as low as you possibly can but the alternative is just to close them down completely.”
It seems to me that the number has just been plucked out of the air. Which simply isn’t good enough when you are dealing with a business and a sport that is so valuable to people.
There’s absolutely no rhyme or reason. How can 500 people inside a stadium with a 5,000 capacity be the same as 500 people in a 50,000 stadium?
I’ll bet good money there are more than 500 people milling around inside indoor shopping centres on Boxing Day of the sales. There will be more than 500 people walking on Princes Street at the same time. I just don’t get it.
If it’s about buses and travelling, people are still using the same trains and buses to get where they need to go at a time when sporting events are restricted.
Politicians are clever. They don’t want to be seen to be closing down football so they don’t make the decision to avoid flak. But by bringing in these restrictions, that’s exactly what they have done.
Remember this time and who’s done what (AGAIN) when the voting comes round next time. These people are no friend of football nor Celtic. They keep talking about independence, but who in their right mind would want these people to lead the country into a new chapter. Can’t count, can’t make a decision of their own, but just modify Boris or follow the Welsh. And when they do attempt a decision of their own, it’s discriminate and without thought to the people it will effect. These are the same people who condoned racist marching through the city chanting racist slurs. The same people who gave Bernard Higgins & Co the power and authority to destroy lives simply because they supported Celtic.
Remember these times and their actions in the next vote, otherwise you deserve everything that’s coming.
Stick to Tory cause that works FFS.
No they’re clowns, at the moment but their actions on this occasion are somewhat more measured, Sturgeon and the dentist are clowns !
I very much want independence but as each day passes I become more convinced that it’s never coming as the Still No Progress party do nothing to further the cause but fall over themselves to spend £9m to make life easier for trans folk to self ID, and all the while public services and infrastructure in this country are falling to the dogs. Nicola Sturgeon is too busy playing up to whatever the cause celebre du jour is for the middle classes, she is as interested in getting this country out of the UK as Boris Johnson is in getting the UK back in the EU. When you throw in this “make it up as you go along” approach then I don’t think she’ll be seeing my vote come the next election, unless she miraculously pull a referendum out of her erse….which, no, she won’t. She’ll just let another mandate pass and whine about the undemocratic practices of Westminster etc. the same as she has every other time…
I have voted SNP for a very long time and I really want independence but this government and advisor’s have hit self destruct.
Some of the decisions being made are ridiculous and our city is being run down right before our eyes under Sno leadership.
I worked during cop and that was something to behold remember the slogan people make Glasgow that’s so true but they forgot to mention that you weren’t invited.
The SNP have dug there own grave and the longer we have them in power the worse this city becomes and the corruption and ineptitude of these politician’s is laid bare.
While I agree with a lot of what you say the fact is IF you like myself crave independence the SNP are the only vehicle available and I believe if we don’t fall into the trap of DIVIDE and CONQUER we can gain independence only THEN can we have an election that represents the will of the SCOTTISH people
Can you really keep voting for a party if you disagree with all policies but one?
the SNP have been living high on the hog of the indy movement for years, and seem far too comfy to let actual independence threaten that. There needs to be more than one viable party for indy and a lot of people are starting to get pissed at Sturgeon, especially over the GRA stuff which to the vast majority of voters is an irrelevant distraction at a time when we should be taking advantage of BoJo’s calamitous incompetence.
People can say what they like about Salmond, he was cleared twice yet still has to suffer a constant barrage of abuse by SNP folk. It’s bang out of order and I’d frankly trust him to run the indy campaign more than anyone in the SNP bar maybe Joanna Cherry. I was fully on board with them but mandate after mandate and nothing but the same tired excuses. SNP mouthpieces may try and insinuate that division is being spread maliciously by unionist forces but they’re doing a fine job of turning folk against them all by themselves…
100% agreement. Leitches words were there was no scientific evidence. The government ( meaning one person took that decision) shame on S.N.P! and the other gutless parties
And they use Leitch the dentist, spent most of his time collecting qualifications, more degrees than a high ranking Free Mason. Zero experience, apart from a great clean scale and polish. Meantime Hugh Pennington, one of the finest virologists on the planet is marginalised because he doesn’t support independence. Shocking this totalitarian has to go.
Spot on Horace.
He’s 100% on the money here.
Sturgeon and her sidekicks have been guilty of attempting to politically outscore Westminster.
And it’s all at our expense.
It’s gone beyond hypocrisy and has entered the realm of negligence.
Well said Chris Sutton.
Not Chris Sutton fan.However l am in TOTAL Agreement with him.
Chris Sutton I usually agree with what you say but not on this occasion sorry lives are more important than anything else
Again welldone Sutty call them out overreacting contradicting feckers the science proves Omricon maybe more contagious but about 50% less dangerous its about controlling public where was all there speeches about the virus during Cop26 oh what was it against( open ur doors), couldnt get a hotel room near glasgow, art galleries botanic gardens etc where all closed to the public cause of all foreigners in the country the city was crammed nothing mentioned about covid then how convenient all work no play well were all sick of it