The Times reports that Scottish grounds, including the home of Rangers, could be closed until July in a move that would allow the clubs to make insurance claims for lost revenue.
Just over a week ago, a near-capacity crowd packed into Ibrox for the first leg of the Europa League Last 16 clash against Bayer Leverkusen.
The Gers fell to a 3-1 defeat against a classy opponent, but the supporters still created a fantastic atmosphere which was praised by opposition manager, Peter Bosz, after the game [Bayer 04 Leverkusen Twitter].
Most fans left the ground that night expecting to be back a few days later for an Old Firm league fixture. Yet, not only was that game cancelled in response to the global health crisis, it’s now claimed that Ibrox may be shut until July.
The Times report claims the SPFL are to request an order from the government for clubs to close their stadiums for a period of months, which would, in turn, facilitate insurance claims for business interruption.
It’s suggested that such an order could be given as early as next week, but would be dependant on Scottish ministers deciding it was a “necessary use of the laws”.
Verdict
Clearly, Rangers fans would prefer that there was no world health crisis and that games were still being played at Ibrox as usual.
Yet, we are very much in unchartered territory here with public health the priority and the financial implications for all clubs are likely to be considerable.
The current suspension of fixtures runs up to 30 April, but at this point, it seems more likely that the season won’t restart at all.
In that case, Rangers will miss out on gate receipts from a number of home fixtures and while there’s talk of an imminent cash injection courtesy of wealthy Asia-based businessman, Stuart Gibson [Daily Record], an insurance payout would certainly help to keep things stable over what would be a lengthy period without football.
