A pair of events that were considered to be a resounding success in terms of COVID-19 protocol and with these being held in September, there was a growing belief that doors across the country would soon open to a larger amount of paying customers.

However, with the UK still seemingly in the vice like grip of coronavirus, plans for an October opening of doors were subsequently slammed shut and the past few weeks have seen empty stadia on both sides of the border.

A state of play that Aberdeen were hoping to change once more, as club chairman Dave McCormack proposed another trial event but this time with 1,000 fans and after making a case to the Scottish government, it was a case of thanks but no thanks.

Frustration for not only Aberdeen, but the other 41 clubs who operate within the SPFL league setup and with no sign of any shift in stance from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, questions of existence once again come to the fore.

In what can only be described as a football mad nation, to have 42 clubs operate in a population of just 5million is quite a feat and because the populace is stretched so far in terms of fandom, it is imperative that they are able to lend their voice and more importantly, financial support.

If Dave McCormack’s proposal’s were to have been greenlit, it would have meant just 5% of Aberdeen’s Pittodrie ground would be made available to supporters and although it does not sound a lot, it is still 5% too many in this current climate.

Which has meant McCormack and his counterparts within Scotland are now asking questions of the authorities and whether they do have a genuine plan for either fans to be welcome or forthcoming financial assistance.

Because the one thing that is the beauty of the Scottish game could also prove to be its biggest hurdle and that is how to find an approach that works for both the full-time and part-time elements of the game.

While although Glasgow Rangers will be asking when they can open the doors to the legendary Ibrox, those same questions will be asked by League One Cove Rangers and their own Balmoral Stadium.

Of course, there is an even further twist when operating outside of the Premiership and that is the fact that there is nothing in the way of paying for testing, as the risks of players falling foul to COVID-19 are arguably more stark.

These risks have already been felt within the top tier, as a number of fixtures have had to be postponed, in what is already going to be an incredibly tight schedule and in the case of St Mirren and their meeting with Hibs, they lost all three of their registered ‘keepers to positive tests.

This highlights that football in Scotland is certainly not immune from what is currently going on in terms of science. Then again, it cannot be seen to be above it either and after already being granted the right to play, it now must make do with empty stadia for an uncomfortable amount of time.

Written by Dan Tracey