NICOLA Sturgeon has appealed directly to Sky Sports to make this weekend’s Old Firm game free to watch to avoid people spreading coronavirus.

She told a virtual sitting of Holyrood: “If anybody from Sky Sports is listening, I would encourage you to think about making the match free to view this weekend.” 

The TV channel is offering a chance to see Celtic host Rangers in the first Old Firm derby of the season on Saturday for “a one-off payment of just £9.99”.

The First Minister this week urged fans not to travel to Blackpool to watch the game in pubs, after more than 250 Covid cases in Scotland associated with trips to the seaside resort.

In a virtual session of parliament about the pandemic, SNP MSP Joan McAlpine asked the First Minister if she would encourage Sky Sports to make the match free “to remove any motivation for people to gather in each other’s houses to watch”.

Ms Sturgeon said she “strongly endorsed” the idea.

She said: “I would ask people to stay at home to watch the football, which is why I really do strongly agree with Joan McAlpine.

“I would encourage Sky Sports this weekend to make the Rangers-Celtic match free to view for supporters as a small but import contribution they could make to helping keep people safe right now.”

She said it would be “enabling people to watch the match in the comfort and the safety of their own home, and reduce the temptation of people who don’t have access to pay-to-view services might have to go and watch the match somewhere else.”

“So if anybody from Sky Sports is listening, I would encourage you to think about making the match free to view this weekend.” 

The FM also pleaded again with fans not to travel to Blackpool, Carlisle or elsewhere to watch the game, calling it a “really bad idea”.