United call for league clarity

St Andrews respected all of the safety guidance ahead of the shutdown, so now want some clarity on a return date. Pic by Blair Smith

It’s a now familiar situation for Saints who have been out of action since January when a decision was made, due to rising Covid-19 levels, to postpone the game below Championship level.

Since then, though, people within lower league clubs have grown frustrated at a lack of clarity on when, or if, they’ll be allowed to resume.

Donald Gellatly, secretary at St Andrews United, says football’s governing bodies should be doing more.

"Those in charge of Scottish football have held two reviews into restarting fixtures yet they have not provided clubs with any plans that will facilitate a return to playing,” said Mr Gellatly.

"It is also disappointing to note that the special dispensation which allowed all semi-professional clubs operating below the Championship to play in accordance with strict protocols has been revoked by the SFA.

"Several St Andrews United officials spent many hours formulating and implementing plans to minimise the risk of catching Covid-19 at the Clayton Caravan Park Recreation Ground, which included the introduction of temperature checks, supply of PPE, restricted use of changing rooms, creating track and trace registers plus marking out ‘no go’ zones.

"There were very few noticeable cases of Covid-19 outbreaks occurring within the EoS League when those protocols were in place so we continued to play at the height of the pandemic four or five weeks ago.

"It therefore seems a bit odd that we should be forced to stop when the rate of infection is reducing and the vaccination programme is well underway.”

Mr Gellatly added that others within the club, including chairman Johnny Strachan, remain in favour of the suspension.

However, with some high profile rule breaches happening at other clubs, who remain allowed to compete, the frustration has built.

“Football’s image in Scotland has suffered as a result of top-flight players breaching protocols by travelling abroad, training inappropriately and visiting pubs in large groups but it seems that non-leagues clubs are paying the penalty for those indiscretions,” added the Saints secretary.