Celtic's plan to let fans back into Parkhead this weekend are set to be blocked by the Scottish Government.
Record Sport understands a request from football’s Covid-19 Joint Response Group to reopen the turnstiles to limited numbers of fans for the champions' top-flight clash with Motherwell on Sunday has not been rubber-stamped by Holyrood.
It had been anticipated that permission would have been granted on Monday morning but the plan appears to have been stalled - with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon having issued the national game with a yellow card following high-profile breaches of coronavrius rules by the Aberdeen Eight and Celtic full-back Boli Bolingoli.
And the stalemate has caused astonishment given the decision last week to allow rugby fans to return to BT Murrayfield this Friday when Glasgow Warriors take on Edinburgh in the second leg of a Pro 14 double header.
Celtic and the SRU had been working hand-in-hand to draw up joint measures needed to keep spectators safe and socially distanced inside their respective grounds.
But while the home of rugby is gearing up to stage the country’s first test event, football’s hopes of a practice run ahead of the proposed return of fans from September 14 now appear to have been booted into touch.
