Nicola Sturgeon: Fans at football unlikely 'any time soon' - First Minister
- Published
Football has been suspended in Scotland at all levels since 13 March
Scottish football should not expect to hold matches in front of fans "any time soon", says Nicola Sturgeon.
Scotland's First Minister said at her daily briefing she could not put a timescale on when the sport might resume.
No games have been played in Scotland since 13 March and the SPFL have since ended the lower-league seasons.
Ms Sturgeon also said the idea of playing behind closed doors needed to be "very carefully considered".
The body that represents Europe's top leagues says when football does return it will "no doubt" be played behind closed doors.
However, the First Minister said any moves to do so would still bring issues.
"We have to consider if that completely takes away the risk," she said. "If a match is still on TV, the danger is people will congregate together to watch.
"What I will say is they will be very carefully considered and we'll share as much of that as we can."
Ms Sturgeon also cautioned that "some sort of social distancing" would still be required once restrictions are lifted, which would have consequences for attendances.
That could last, she confirmed, until a vaccine becomes available, with the latest reports suggesting that could be the second half of next year.
"We want to get a semblance of normality back to people's lives but we cant risk a resurgence of this virus," she said.
"I know that is not good news for people who have sport as a really important part of their lives but it would be wrong for me to give false expectation about an early resumption of large-scale sporting events."