Ex-Premier League official: Authorities should be ‘applauded’ after Celtic-Rangers controversy takes twist
Keith Hackett has praised the Celtic-backed decision to bring forward Scottish football’s winter break.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League official claimed it was the “sensible” move and will be a major boost to clubs with injured players.
BBC Sport reported last Thursday (23 December) 10 of the 12 Scottish Premiership clubs voted to bring the three-week break forward.
The government had placed a 500 maximum capacity on games but the league are hopeful that will change when football returns.
As quoted by Sky Sports on Christmas Eve, Giovanni van Bronckhorst admitted Rangers were one of two clubs against the move.
Asked for his verdict on the decision, Hackett told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley: “I think they are to be applauded for bringing the break forward, it’s a sensible move.
“They’ve gone through a long period without fans previously so I think this is the sensible move.
“The difficulty that a football club has is two-fold. There’s a positive if a club has a number of injured players. It gives them time to recover which is a benefit.
“But then they’ve almost got to do a basic pre-season again. Three weeks, what happens to the players, the momentum and all that goes with it.
“It’s not an easy decision. There are employment issues in terms of staffing. A football club has got monthly costs, those don’t suddenly go away.”
Celtic go into the winter break six points behind league leaders Rangers.
The two were due to meet at Parkhead in the new year (2 January) but that has been rearranged to the following month (2 February).
In other news, there has been a significant update on Celtic and Rangers’ race to sign a player as a decision is made.