All Falkirk games off until February at earliest as spread of Covid-19 leads to cancellation of lower-league games across Scotland

The escalating Covid-19 situation nationwide has forced the Scottish Football Association to cancel all football below Championship level for the next three weeks, and for Falkirk that begins with tomorrow night’s planned cup match at Arbroath.
Falkirk playing against East Fife the weekend before last. Photo: Michael Gillen.Falkirk playing against East Fife the weekend before last. Photo: Michael Gillen.
Falkirk playing against East Fife the weekend before last. Photo: Michael Gillen.

The move will see League One clubs such as Falkirk and East Fife put into cold storage until the stuation is reviewed on Sunday, January 31.

Premiership teams such as Motherwell can continue playing, as can Raith Rovers in the Championship, though.

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Scottish Cup ties will also be postponed temporarily, including Falkirk’s planned trip to Arbroath tomorrow, January 12, for a Scottish Cup second-round tie postponed from Saturday. The winners of that tie will face Celtic in the competition’s third round but not at the end of this month, as originally scheduled.

Camelon’s much-postponed first-round cup tie against Brora Rangers tonight, January 11, can go ahead, however. The winners of that tie, being played behind closed doors at Westfield Park in Denny at 7.30pm, will face Heart of Midlothian in the second round, and the winners of that one will go on to play Stranraer in the third round.

The SFA board met on Sunday night to discuss the situation and says it gave extensive consideration to making decisions in the interests of public health, taking into account the Scottish Government’s wish to reduce travel and contact with others whilst safeguarding the commercial broadcasting contracts that sustain the professional game.Following a meeting between the SFA and Holyrood’s minister for public health, sport and wellbeing, Mairi Gougeon,a temporary suspension of all football beneath the Scottish Professional Football League Championship has been agreed, encompassing all predominantly part-time tiers of the Scottish professional pyramid, from midnight tonight, January 11.

The leagues affected are SPFL League One, SPFL League Two, Scottish Women’s Football Premier Leagues 1 and 2, Highland League, Lowland League, East, West and South of Scotland Leagues, Scottish Junior FA Leagues and the North Caledonian League.

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The Premiership will be exempt from the suspension, provided it continues to adhere to stringent testing protocols.The SPFL Championship will also be able to continue, provided it commences weekly polymerase chain reaction testing.Scottish Cup matches due to be played prior to February 1 will be rescheduled in due course.

SFA president Rod Petrie said: “The SFA is well aware of the efforts all clubs take to comply with the exacting protocols that were conditional on elite football being given an exemption to continue amid the pandemic.

“None the less, the continuation of football at all levels has weighed increasingly heavy on me as president, my colleagues on the board and the joint response group as we have watched the new strain of the virus spread rapidly.

“While the national sport has been afforded the privilege of elite sporting exemption, the risk of mass transportation of untested, largely part-time players is something that cannot be sustained as the cases continue to rise and available hospital beds become increasingly scarce.

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“After discussions with the SPFL, the Premiership and Championship will continue on the proviso that both adhere to the existing testing regime.

"The vast majority of teams in those divisions are full-time professional clubs and so the risk of transmission remains manageably low. The cost implications for lower-division clubs was one factor but so too the realisation that many – with some notable exceptions – consist of part-time players who are either prevented from working due to the virus or have to work.“In either case, the risk is currently too great amid the developing nationwide spread of the virus.“Much has been said of football’s relationship with the Scottish Government during the pandemic. As president of the SFA and chair of the joint response group, I am grateful for the clinical expertise provided by government specifically to football and for the timely award of £30m in grant and loan funding for the game.“We reiterate our commitment to playing our part in the collective effort to eradicate the virus.”

Two other Falkirk games have been put on hold for now, their league matches against Montrose at home this coming Saturday, January 16, and away to Forfar the Saturday after, January 23.