SCOTTISH football fans should not expect to attend matches again "any time soon", Nicola Sturgeon has said. 

The First Minister also warned any move to play games behind closed doors would have to be considered "very carefully". 

She said: "If a match is being played behind closed doors but it's still on television, the danger then is people will still congregate together in groups to watch that."

The Scottish football season was suspended on March 13 due to the coronavirus crisis. 

There has since been speculation matches could take place behind closed doors. 

Ms Sturgeon was asked about the issue during the Scottish Government's daily coronavirus press conference. 

She said: "I'm not yet in a position to give you dates on when things will start again and what order that we might see things start to go back to normal. 

"But I would absolutely say that people should not be under the expectation that large-scale mass gatherings will be starting any time soon, because we must make sure that we are doing everything we can to continue to suppress this virus." 

The First Minister said "some form of social distancing" may be required until a vaccine is available. 

She added: "That's me being as frank and honest as possible. 

"We want to get a semblance of normality back into people's lives for all sorts of reasons as quickly as possible. 

"But we cannot do that in a way that risks a resurgence of this virus and then all of the things we've been trying to avoid becoming what happens again. 

"I know that is not good news for people – which is the majority of our population – who feel and have sport as a really important part of our lives and our culture and how we use our leisure time. 

"But it would be wrong for me to give false expectation right now about an early resumption of football matches or rugby matches or large-scale sporting events like that. 

"In terms of playing behind closed doors, clearly there are issues there in terms of, does that completely take away the risk of big events?

"If a match is being played behind closed doors but it's still on television, the danger then is people will still congregate together in groups to watch that. 

"So these things all have to be very carefully considered, and what I will say is that they will be very carefully considered."

Dr Gregor Smith, Scotland's interim chief medical officer, added: "The very act of playing behind closed doors doesn't mean to say that you won't get gatherings of people to try to enjoy sport together."

He said the Scottish Government needs to be led by the science.