Recently, Celtic FC manager Neil Lennon had admitted that the first Old Firm Derby for the 2020-21 season should be pushed back so that fans have a chance to see the match from inside the stadium.
He said, as reported: “Everyone associated with the game would want that and the clubs would want that. I’m sure the TV companies would want that as well.
“If that (behind closed doors) is the way it has to be, that’s the way it has to be. But I do think the authorities will look at it and try to push it back. It’ll give us more of a chance of getting the punters back.
“Health and safety have to come first but, important as that is, I think it’s also really important to get football back. We know what football means to so many people in this country. We have a fantastic product here for the size of the country and it’s important we protect it and get it up and running as best we can.
“Hopefully in the not too distant future, we will have supporters and players back in unison again in the same stadiums with the same atmosphere. But maybe, as a short-term fix, behind closed doors is something myself and the players will have to adapt to.”
And just when some fans were welcoming this viewpoint and urging the authorities to postpone the first Old Firm Derby of the season, former Aberdeen striker Noel Whelan has told in an interview that no game should be given special treatment.
“Every game is just as important as the other,” he told Football Insider.
“We all knows what lies behind the Old Firm derby. Everyone wants to be at that game, I have been at one and the atmosphere is incredible. The build-up to the game is incredible but at the same time, you have to respect what we are going through.
“If a fixture list is there and it is one of the first games you have to take it. It is the way that it is. Will they be there at the start of the season? It all depends on what happens over the next two to three months.
“They should not be thinking about that just yet. Hopefully, we will have fans back at every stadium soon.”
The first Glasgow derby is usually held in the month of September which is a fair bit away but the Premiership authorities will have to make a concrete decision by the time they announce the full schedule for the new season.
