Professional Scottish sport unaffected by new Covid-19 rules

Professional sport in Scotland will not be affected by new coronavirus restrictions for now.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has issued a general stay at home instruction from midnight.

Football and rugby have been played behind closed doors since August.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will make a televised address at 20:00 GMT on Monday regarding further steps to battle coronavirus in England.

Glasgow Warriors are scheduled to face Edinburgh in Friday’s Pro14 rugby union match. Edinburgh and Glasgow both have European fixtures scheduled for January.

Also on Friday, Queen’s Park’s take on Queen of the South in football’s Scottish Cup.

More cup ties are scheduled for Saturday, along with Scottish Premiership matches – with further top-flight matches on Sunday, next Monday and next Wednesday. Championship sides are in action next Tuesday.

A small number of football and rugby matches have been played in front of a limited number of supporters this season but with fans are only allowed in stadiums in tier 3 areas under current government guidelines. All of mainland Scotland has been in Tier 4, the highest level of restrictions, since Boxing Day.

The Scottish FA has said it will liaise with the Scottish government regarding the impact on football at grassroots level.