SPFL requests meeting with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon over fans' return
- Published
Ross County are one of the few SPFL clubs permitted to have up to 300 fans in attendance
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says football cannot be treated "in isolation" amid the SPFL's renewed attempts to hasten the return of fans.
Ms Sturgeon was responding to league chief executive Neil Doncaster's request for an emergency meeting.
Amid different Covid regulations in each UK country, England will permit up to 4,000 spectators at outdoor events in lowest-risk areas next month.
Only 300 are permitted in stadia in Scotland's two lowest lockdown tiers.
Sturgeon said: "However much Neil Doncaster, for reasons I understand, is only looking at football, we can't see any sector or any part of society in isolation because there is only so much we can do overall to keep the virus under control."
Doncaster had warned the lock-out of supporters will "sound the death knell" for some clubs if it continues.
He added: "Every major club in Scotland has very detailed, well-founded plans in place for safely returning fans back to stadiums.
"If it's good enough for English fans, it must be good enough for Scottish fans.
"If the First Minister refuses to allow football fans all over Scotland to watch their beloved teams in carefully-regulated, limited numbers, complete with track and trace, she will have to explain to them the clinical difference between Scottish fans and English fans."