Dons’ great Willie Miller believes fans should be allowed back into stadiums if only to bring some normality back to life.
Aberdeen’s record appearance holder told the BBC before the Hibs game on Friday that fans should be rewarded with being allowed back in stadiums after the support they’ve given their clubs through the pandemic.
Miller called for fans to return as three hundred supporters were allowed to watch Ross County draw 1-1 with Livingston in Dingwall on Friday night – the Highlands being one of the only areas in Scotland which comes under the government’s tier one covid response system.
Miller said to the BBC: “It’s got nothing to do with the finances of football. It’s to do with giving something back to the supporters who have backed their clubs throughout this pandemic.”
Miller wasn’t overly enthused by three hundred supporters being allowed to return to Victoria Park and scoffed at the idea that three hundred could go to Pittodrie – less than three per cent capacity of the stadium.
“We’ve got to try and get some normality back and I think football would be a great example of being able to lead us out this disaster we’re all going through at this moment in time.”
It comes as Aberdeen FC attempt to convince the government to allow a thousand supporters back to watch the Reds in action.
Aberdeen FC commercial director Rob Wicks said the club has put together a thirty page dossier outlining their plans for supporters returning to stadiums.
Wicks said of the proposed thousand capacity test event: “We are confident in our rigorous approach to ensuring a highly regulated test event with significant measures in place to protect supporters in an outdoor environment.”
A malaise has replaced enthusiasm about supporters coming back to stadiums after chief executive of Inverness Caley Thistle, Scot Gardiner, said he was disappointed that the club weren’t permitted to allow more supporters through the turnstiles.
Further articles:
–Aberdeen beat Hibs again to go joint on points with Celtic: Reaction
-Dons supporter’s fury at Sky’s one-sided promo video
-Preview: the big one, Dortmund v Bayern Munich in Bundesliga
The Jags, also based in the Highlands, have been granted three hundred fans to watch them play Raith Rovers at the Caledonian Stadium in the Championship on 21st November.
Gardiner told the Press & Journal: “We were hoping to get more than three hundred to be honest. I won’t tell a fib and say we are not a little disappointed.”
Gardiner is confused as to why people are permitted to meet inside in places such as cafes and restaurants but not outside in the expanse of a football stadium.
Gardiner went on to say: “It’s March 10th since we last had fans through the gates, but other industries are allowed to have great numbers indoors, and we’re outdoors.”
What a mess
With the politicians weighing in, denying fans entry into stadiums has turned into a mess.
Derek McInnes called out the Scottish Government for double standards in praising Rangers for their “swift and decisive” action in dealing with first team players Jordan Jones and George Edmundson’s breaches of covid restrictions.
McInnes told the media in the week: “While we were wrong at the time and rightly criticised, (when Aberdeen players visited a city centre bar at the beginning of August), I haven’t seen the same condemnation that was aimed towards us right across the board.
“Whether that was because we were the first, I don’t know.”
Miller finished off his ode to supporters by saying at some point life needs to return to normal.
Miller said: “We’ve got to try and get some normality back and I think football would be a great example of being able to lead us out this disaster we’re all going through at this moment in time.”
Opinion: The hypocrisy of it all
It was at the end of 2019 that I showed up at Pittodrie and bought my ticket for the annual game the day after Christmas.
Being a walk-in hit my pocket quite hard but gave a bit of money to the Red cause.
The term ‘walk-in’ is the Holy Grail of Scottish football at the moment, with turnstile receipts making up fifty per cent of revenue for Scottish clubs.
Now you have to put together a thirty page dossier and stay glued to the incessant First Minister’s briefings to try understand whether you’ll be allowed to watch your team play in the flesh.
Fans not being in stadiums is not just hurting clubs, but the product of football as a whole.
Never has it been so clear in the history of the game that football is about the fans.
Games without the atmosphere of supporters are lifeless and sterile.
Even if the game might be exciting that excitement just doesn’t come across as a thirty-yard shot crashes off the bar to silence and the game morbidly goes on.
It’s too long now and almost cruel to continue to deny fans.
We’ve been with the virus long enough to begin trying to manage it and incorporate it into normal life.
Harry Jamshid Reporter Sports Pages 