Vaccine will not guarantee fans at Hampden in June, says Scottish sport minister
A successful Covid vaccination roll-out might not be enough to guarantee fans inside Hampden for the Euros in June, Scotland's sport minister says.
By Chris McLaughlinBBC Scotland sports news correspondent Hampden will host four fixtures, including Scotland's group matches against Croatia and the Czech Republic. European football's governing body Uefa has given all 12 host cities until April to present a plan on how many fans will be allowed inside each venue. But Mairi Gougeon says April could be too early to make a call. The Scottish government minister said: "It's not possible for me to say where we'll be in April. "We're in regular contact with the governing bodies, with the Scottish FA, so that they're fully appraised of where we're at." "There's still so much about the vaccine that we don't know." So far, one-third of Scotland's adult population have been given a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, with more than 1.5 million jabs administered. First doses will be offered to everyone over 50 and those with underlying health conditions by 15 April, with the rest of the population by the end of July. The sport minister said she could not say whether vaccinating all vulnerable people with their first dose would be enough to see a return of some supporters when the tournament starts in June. "We could be in that position but again it depends on transmission rates and how everything works at that point," she said. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a possible return of up to 10,000 fans to English stadiums from 17 May but the Scottish government has so far resisted giving any specific dates. "I can see the frustration when the UK government have set out definitive dates and given provisional numbers regarding what they will permit, but the approach we are taking in Scotland is cautious and it's also realistic," Ms Gougeon added. Scotland will kick-off their first major tournament since 1998 with a game in Glasgow against the Czech Republic on 14 June. Croatia will be the opponents at Hampden on 22 June - with game against England at Wembley, in between, on the 18th. Ms Gougeon, who also looks after the Covid testing programme as part of her brief, took over from Joe Fitzpatrick who lost his job in December. She said she is determined to get people back playing organised sport as quickly as possible but again would not be drawn on any hint of a timescale. She also answered criticism from within women's football in Scotland that they can't even train while some men's part-time sides are carrying on with their league campaign. "All of that had been based on the tier system that had been in place but again I'm really keen to see that resume when it's safe for that to happen," she said. A proposal has been presented to the Scottish government that could see a resumption of the women's game, along with the lower SPFL leagues, next month but no decision has yet been made.