The Scottish government have responded to criticism over their refusal to allow Celtic to trial a fan return this weekend at home to Motherwell.
Supporters were left disappointed to learn that the Hoops' proposal to welcome back around 1,000 supporters to Parkhead was rejected by the government. This, of course, despite the fact that rugby fans have been granted the opportunity to return to BT Murrayfield this Friday as Edinburgh take on Glasgow Warriors in their Pro 14 clash.
A spokesperson for the government has now addressed the controversy by accepting football fans would be frustrated at the outcome of the discussion. But they insist they need more time to test new protocols and testing schedules before they can safely allow fans back inside stadiums - and they believe this weekend's rugby match is the right time to do some initial tests.
The spokesperson said: "A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes during these past months to create the protocols and testing regimes to allow top-level professional sport in Scotland to resume, without putting the public or others at unnecessary risk.
"We recognise there is disappointment that the proposal for a pilot on 30 August has not been approved but we are looking for suitable alternative dates for football pilots.
"We need to allow sufficient time for any test events to be informed by learning from other events – in particular the rugby match at Murrayfield on 28 August."
We told how Celtic hero Chris Sutton aimed a pop at the government for allowing the rugby back, but not footie. He said: "Good to see the rugby test event still getting the go ahead though on Friday... rugby fans obviously a much better bunch".
Fans also took to social media to blast the 'double standards'.
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