Celtic call for Premiership winter break to be moved forward

Celtic have asked the SPFL to move the planned winter break forward to this weekend, following the government decision to limit fans to a maximum of 500 per game.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the plans on Tuesday as part of efforts to curb the spread of the omicron variant. The restriction on numbers at all large scale events from Boxing Day is planned to last for a maximum of three weeks.

That timespan would include the Old Firm derby on January 2 at Celtic Park, and the Edinburgh derby a day later, just before the Premiership’s scheduled two-week shutdown.

Celtic believe that break should now take place from this weekend, allowing a greater chance for fans to attend when the matches are rescheduled in 2022.

A club statement read: “Everyone at Celtic recognises the difficulties presented to society by the current pandemic and the health and safety of all must always be our priority.

“In light of today’s announcement regarding supporters attending matches, Celtic can confirm that it has today requested that the SPFL bring forward the scheduled winter break and reschedule the fixtures affected by the regulations announced.

“The game owes it to supporters to explore all opportunities to maximise the prospect of all supporters being able to attend matches and support the game they love.”

Clubs have been in discussions with the league about the government’s announcement, with a number of factors to be considered, including the SPFL’s broadcast deal.