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Keith chairman Andy Troup fears Aberdeen and Celtic players flouting the laws plus costly coronavirus testing is a threat to the Highland League season happening this year


By Craig Christie

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COVID-19 testing and the antics of top Premiership footballers could jeopardise the Scottish Highland Football League season, reckons Keith chairman Andy Troup.

Keith chairman Andy Troup
Keith chairman Andy Troup

Troup fears that another breach of coronavirus rules by one of Scotland’s leading clubs could prompt First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to pull the plug on the sport for safety reasons.

He said talks had been positive about beginning the league season on October 17 on the same day as the lower SPFL divisions, but that plan is hangs in the balance.

Eight Aberdeen players admitted going out drinking at a bar linked to a recent Covid-19 spike in the city, while Celtic defender Boli Bolingoli made an impromptu trip to Spain in breach of quarantine rules. Both clubs had their fixtures postponed for a week on government orders.

The Highland League was due to meet with SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell to lay out a pathway for the return of north football when talks were halted due to Celtic's latest breach of protocol, Troup revealed.

“If people don’t behave themselves she (Sturgeon) will just stop Scottish football,” said Troup.

“Obviously the situation with the Aberdeen and Celtic players has put us back due to the fact that the Scottish Government is not going to mess about.

“Now we hear that Hearts were training when they weren’t supposed to be as well.

"We were supposed to have another meeting this week with Ian Maxwell but that was cancelled due to him having to go and see Nicola Sturgeon at Bute House after the Celtic scenario.

"That has put us back slightly as well because we’re going to have to reschedule that meeting.

“The 17th of October was the date we were all aiming for. But there’s so much things to be put in place to be able to receive that and I just don’t know if that is going to be feasible.”

Troup had also hoped that player testing wouldn’t be needed for Highland League clubs by the time they return to training. “We can’t afford to pay £50 per test per player twice a week and until that is no longer required, the Highland League won’t be starting.

“We were hoping that would be finished by the end of August but I don’t know if that will be the case now with the spike back in Aberdeen and with the situation with Aberdeen and Celtic.”

The Keith chairman praised the work being done by the Highland League to try and ensure that the season can go ahead as planned.

The likeliest format for a league fixture list is one with the 17 clubs playing each other once instead of the usual home and away meetings.

After 16 matches are played, if time allows the league could then split into a top and bottom half to bring in another seven or eight matches to decide the final league positions.

"We are having meetings regularly with the Highland League and we have come up with a couple of scenarios that we can take forward if we can start on the 17th, which clubs still have to agree to.

"But I think we have something that all clubs would agree to, I can’t say any more at this stage.

"We have scenarios drawn up for what we think we can do with the league and cup competitions as well."

"The league secretary Rod Houston and assistant secretary Graham Wilson have done a fantastic job as well, pulling scenarios together.

"They are involved in some of the SFA working groups as well which are guiding us and helping us push things forward."

Troup hopes that supporters understand that public safety is paramount and football will only return if strict restrictions are in place.

"We all want football back, we are all football people and we’re passionate about our sport. But at the end of the day there’s a pandemic going on and there’s people’s lives at stake, so that’s got to be foremost for every club.

"It’s not something we can sort overnight. It has to be done in a safe manner.

"We’ve got a duty of care to our staff, the players, management team, committee and volunteers first and foremost, then the Highland League has a wider duty of care to all supporters and everybody involved in the game.

"We’ve got to be sensible in what we do."



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