FOOTBALL grounds have been urged to improve their hygiene to help guard against coronavirus after claims stadiums often failed to provide fans with even soap and water.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said all sports and entertainment venues needed to ensure that people could wash their hands to combat the disease.
It followed Liberal Democrat MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton raising the poor state of bathrooms in many football grounds at Holyrood.
Scottish football’s two main authorities, the Scottish FA and SPFL, announced this week that they were taking a joint approach to tackling the spread of Covid-19.
They said they would work to minimise disruption to football, with SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell and SPFL boss Neil Doncaster working SFS medical consultant Dr John McLean.
Mr Maxwell said the new response group would speak “with one voice in providing guidance and reassurance to stakeholders”.
It would also “co-ordinate activity daily to ensure Scottish football takes the necessary measures to safeguard the wellbeing of everyone involved in the national game”.
However Mr Cole-Hamilton pointed out clubs often failed to ensure basic hygiene levels.
He said: “Well over 100,000 people go to the football each week, where stadium toilets often have cold water or even no water at all and empty soap dispensers.
“People go on to shake hands and celebrate with those sitting around them.
“So if events like these are to continue, as I hope they can, does the cabinet secretary agree with me that it is critical that decent wash facilities are in place.
“Will she contact the SFA and SPFL’s coronavirus action group to ask them to urgently ensure these facilities are up to scratch?”
Ms Freeman said: “Everyone, every single person in this chamber, every member of our families, every employer organisation, entertainment venue, everyone has a serious responsibility to help us here in the containment phase.
“So if an entertainment venue, a sports facility, an employer needs to ensure that the resources are there to allow people to effectively wash their hands, to bin tissues and so on, then I would urge them very strongly to do that.
“I know that our officials from Active Scotland are in contact with the various sports bodies and we will take that work forward with them… so that we can ensure that people are doing what they need to be doing right now.”
The SFA has been asked for comment.
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