13 May 2021

Scottish Cup final to be played in front of 600 fans

13 May 2021

There will be 600 supporters at the Scottish Cup final.

The Scottish Football Association had applied for a 2,000-strong crowd to attend the May 22 clash between Hibernian and St Johnstone, but social-distancing rules mean that is not possible.

The game was initially destined to be played behind closed doors because UEFA will have taken over the stadium for alterations ahead of the European Championship.

An SFA statement read: “Following dispensation from UEFA to allow a restricted number of supporters to attend the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park on Saturday May 22, the Scottish FA approached the Scottish Government for 2,000 fans to be accommodated using the approved UEFA Euro 2020 stadium seating template.

“The Scottish Government has today confirmed that a two-metre physical distancing configuration must be used, not the 1.5m configuration that will be in operation for UEFA Euro 2020.

“At two-metre physical distancing, the number of spectators able to be hosted in the approved areas of the stadium reduces to 600 in total – 300 per club.

“We have notified both finalists, Hibernian and St Johnstone, and while the number is less than anticipated we look forward to a limited number of fans attending the cup final.”

A statement from Hibernian added: “We are currently considering the fairest and best way to distribute the tickets and will let supporters know tomorrow (Friday).”

Scottish Government rules will relax on Monday to enable crowds of 500 to attend outdoor events, but organisers can apply to their local authority for permission to boost the attendance.

The four Euro 2020 games at Hampden are set to be played in front of crowds of about 12,000.

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