Celtic vs Rangers test event prospects revealed as Scott Brown cracks fan abuse joke
The Parkhead skipper is set to lead his side out at a test event against Ross County in front of 300 supporters at the weekend.
by Michael Gannon, https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/authors/michael-gannon/Scott Brown admits it’s a major blow for Scottish football after Nicola Sturgeon put the brakes on plans to get supporters back in to grounds.
But the Celtic captain admits it’s right to wait until it’s safe to get the green light – even though it now looks certain October’s clash with Rangers will be fanless.
The Hoops are set to play in front of 300 punters in a test game at Ross County on Saturday – with Aberdeen allowing a similar amount in to their game with Killie.
But hopes of stepping up the numbers from next week and beyond have been put on ice after the First Minister issued a covid clampdown to halt the spike in cases.
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Neil Lennon’s side had hoped to have at least 1000 supports inside Parkhead for Livingston’s visit on September 19 but the government have ordered clubs to wait until at least October 5.
The Premiership will step aside for Scotland’s Euro Championships play-off semi-final clash with Israel at Hampden – which UEFA have already ordered to be played behind closed doors.
SPFL clubs are back on league duty on October 17, with the Championship and Leagues One and Two also set to kick-off, and there is hope there will be opportunities to allow supporters in at that stage.
But Record Sport understands the first Old Firm clash is not expected to be used as a test event and there are fears the return of supporters in general could be bumped back further.
The SFA/SPFL Joint Response Group held crunch talks on Thursday night and will be in dialogue with the government over the weekend and beyond to plot a route map for getting fans back.
Hoops skipper Brown said: “We want the fans back in as soon as we can but we’ve got to do what’s best for the country.
“If the First Minister says it’s another month off then so be it.
“We’ve got to make sure everyone in the county is safe.
“Everyone is in the same boat. We have to deal with it the best way we can.
“If it’s another month before we can get the fans back at Celtic Park then so be it.
“We don’t want big gatherings now if she believes it’s not safe.
It will be interesting to see how the couple of hundred fans at this weekend works as well.
“There won’t be much abuse – I’m a bit devastated by that!”