COVID-19 In Scottish Football

[ropy]

2 minutes ago, Have some faith in Magic said:

It would be a massive over reaction to pause the whole game. 

Football should not be treated any differently from any other business at the moment.  

Some daft twat did the same on Ballieston but they haven't shut the entire hospitality industry down. 

There hasn't been enough time yet to show evidence of the clubs taking action against those involved. They need to be severely punished and evidence presented to the gov't that action is being taken to deter idiots doing similar things. 

 

 

 

Football is being treated differently, they are being given dispensation to play a league tournament, that dispensation came with rules, protocols, restrictions and a degree of good faith.

[AndyDD]

football's been given special exemptions from physical distancing etc to let it get back underway, but that's twice now (at least) that they haven't even managed to abide by the basic rules for the public never mind the more strict footballing protocols. 

 It's like the other pubs and venues in Aberdeen missing out on trade because of the idiotic actions of a few venues and hundreds of idiots. Worse because again football as an industry has been given special privileges and they'e been abused on 2 separate occasions by staff of 2 separate clubs.

 

[Mr Positive, sometimes.]

4 minutes ago, HibsFan said:

Please could someone, step by step, explaining the benefits of pausing the league, because I’m totally lost here otherwise.

If the league is paused, players will continue to be paid, and in fact have more free time and even less responsibility to flout COVID restrictions.

Apart from the “show the troublemakers we’re serious by punishing the lot of them” line - which is something from a P2 teacher’s playbook - what good reason is there to pause the league?

Will be used as a deterrent and punishment to the SPFL clubs. 

They'll basically say it's postponed for X weeks to allow SPFL to prove they're in control of testing and the club's. 

[ropy]

The Government has given the go ahead for football as they understand the place it has in Scottish society although I suspect we as fans place it higher than it actually is.  Clubs need to ensure that players play by the rules, if players want to opt out then off they trot.

[BawWatchin]

The players and clubs are entirely at fault here and anybody who says otherwise is a fucking idiot.

Special concessions were made to allow the game to start up this season. Those concessions came with certain conditions. Conditions that are clearly not being met or taken seriously by players and clubs.

If it takes the threat of scrapping the season to get the message across, then so be it.

[ropy]

If the season gets scrapped will next season’s 10 IAR campaign be valid?  How many asterisks?

[ropy]

Just now, ropy said:

If the season gets scrapped will next season’s 10 IAR campaign be valid?  How many asterisks?

In fact I am now beginning to see the tactic, drop points, throw a sacrificial lamb to the wolves, start again.

[woof!]

2 hours ago, Lex said:

 

We’re less than two weeks into the season and we’ve already had two known breaches of COVID-19 regulations by Scottish Premiership footballers. The actual breaches will be much higher of course, we just won’t know about the rest.

Aberdeen players fancied a cheeky pint after their game, breaking the four household rule and leading to at least one game being postponed.

Celtic player Boli Bolingoli made a secret trip to Spain and never quarantined on his return as per the legal requirements. Subsequently training with his team mates and playing against Kilmarnock. Do all of the players who he came into contact since his return now need to quarantine for two weeks? How many postponements will this clandestine holiday lead to?

Scottish Government now saying - unsurprisingly - that the season may be ‘paused’.

Where do we go from here? Just accept that the players can’t be trusted to keep to the rules and pause the season? Pause until when...? If they can’t be trusted now when can they be trusted? There’s no vaccine on the horizon and no end to this virus in the near future. It’s hard to see how this season gets finished.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The players broke the rules (that we are not party to) between the Scottish government, SPFL and SFA and Aberdeen should be punished, accordingly. The players did not break rules that apply to the wider public. The 3 household rule only applies to non-risk assessed indoor places such as homes - pubs are exempt because they have mitigation procedures in place with a 1 metre social distancing rule. 

[vikingTON]

Loving the myth still doing the rounds that the SG granted these extra 'special exemptions' (in actual fact, far more restrictions) to professional football resuming out of the sheer goodness of their heart, on the same day that they start chucking up to 1000 weans into the same indoor space all week along with no distancing because 'the weans don't really get it that bad anyway'. 

[vikingTON]

2 minutes ago, woof! said:

The players broke the rules (that we are not party to) between the Scottish government, SPFL and SFA and Aberdeen should be punished, accordingly. The players did not break rules that apply to the wider public. The 3 household rule only applies to non-risk assessed indoor places such as homes - pubs are exempt because they have mitigation procedures in place with a 1 metre social distancing rule. 

You're not supposed to meet with more than 4 households in any given day though, regardless of it being in a pub or house IIRC. Though being ignorant or flouting this utterly stupid 'rule' is hardly crime of the century.

[Mr Positive, sometimes.]

8 minutes ago, ropy said:

If the season gets scrapped will next season’s 10 IAR campaign be valid?  How many asterisks?

I mean... Unless you support either Rangers or Celtic. Who cares. 

[Lex]

The players broke the rules (that we are not party to) between the Scottish government, SPFL and SFA and Aberdeen should be punished, accordingly. The players did not break rules that apply to the wider public. The 3 household rule only applies to non-risk assessed indoor places such as homes - pubs are exempt because they have mitigation procedures in place with a 1 metre social distancing rule. 

Pubs are exempt from the 4 household rule? Really? Where do you get that from?

Aberdeen players own statement acknowledges that they broke the rules on amount of households permitted to meet up.

[BawWatchin]

Just now, virginton said:

You're not supposed to meet with more than 4 households in any given day though, regardless of it being in a pub or house IIRC. Though being ignorant or flouting this utterly stupid 'rule' is hardly crime of the century.

It doesn't need to be the "crime of the century". It just needs to be known that it is a crime and it comes with consequences if you happen to be caught.

[craigkillie]

49 minutes ago, Big Fifer said:

Were the Hibs players not uploading photos out together last weekend as well? Can't just hammer the Aberdeen players because they were the ones that got "caught" so to speak. The Bolingoli thing is absolutely ridiculous and I'd be surprised if not one other person at Celtic knew about it. 

As has been mentioned before, these cases will be the tip of the iceberg as far as footballers breaking "The Rules" and even more so when it comes to the rest of folk in society. Maybe not so much with the foreign trips stuff, but when the lower leagues kick off again you'd have to think there'll be players breaking the rules left right and centre. 

Given that we've established that there isn't a "bubble" for footballers, I'm not sure there was anything wrong with what the Hibs players did - there were 4 of them out for dinner, but apparently a couple of them live together in which case it was just 3 households.

[Mr Positive, sometimes.]

2 minutes ago, craigkillie said:

Given that we've established that there isn't a "bubble" for footballers, I'm not sure there was anything wrong with what the Hibs players did - there were 4 of them out for dinner, but apparently a couple of them live together in which case it was just 3 households.

I know I mistook yourself the other day when you said about the restaurant and I thought you meant Aberdeen but I very much agree and feel going out for dinner to a restaurant that has appropriate social distancing etc is a massive difference between the other idiots. They didn't go to mobbed pubs etc or go on a secret trip to Spain. 

Edited August 11, 2020 by Mr Positive, sometimes.

[G51]

If there is a pause that exceeds 6 days, then it appears Celtic will have to forfeit their European tie.

https://twitter.com/Moravcik67_/status/1290696725116715008?s=20

Edited August 11, 2020 by G51

[AllyM]

Quite like the notion that a breach of rules should mean a 14 day quarantine and an automatic 3-0 defeat for any games scheduled in that period.

If that was already in place, we'd have the spectacle of Celtic having a 3-0 win against Aberdeen in the bag, only to piss it away, cos one of their players can't bring themselves to actually stay in Scotland between games,  just a couple of weeks into the season.

Impressive also that both sides would then have contrived to lose the game 0-3.

 

 

[Valentino Bolognese]

26 minutes ago, HibsFan said:

Please could someone, step by step, explaining the benefits of pausing the league, because I’m totally lost here otherwise.

If the league is paused, players will continue to be paid, and in fact have more free time and even less responsibility to flout COVID restrictions.

Apart from the “show the troublemakers we’re serious by punishing the lot of them” line - which is something from a P2 teacher’s playbook - what good reason is there to pause the league?

You've answered your own question, it would be about signalling. 

2 calculations here I think. First is the public health question of whether or not these breaches of regulation are materially dangerous in and of themselves (not sure), or do they create a 'Cummings effect' where it looks like some people are above the law? I think the that second is more important to the the gvmt. 

The second calculation is the political one, in terms of the impact on support. Football is incredibly popular in this country and an important part of the society and culture, having it back is a welcome distraction and good for the national mood.  There's also the economic impacts, potentially losing TV money and stalling the start of the lower leagues could be the final nail in the coffin for a lot of clubs. 

On balance, I think that this goverment will feel that they have to do something but a postponement of more than a game or two could have the consequence of wrecking the season entirely. I don't think that the risk of being tagged as the government that killed the game of football in Scotland is a political price worth risking. Probably a very strong line to the authorities that either or both clubs and players have to be seen to be on the receiving end of meaningful consequences will the the outcome of these discussions. 

[Les Cabbage]

The Football should definitely be cancelled however we will allow strangers who aren’t being tested like footballers are into indoor venues to watch football....

 

[kingjoey]

Pausing football, regardless of any special privileges, would be akin to shutting all pubs in the country because of the idiot customers in Aberdeen, and to be fair, every other town and city in Scotland. But the government haven’t done that.