Hundreds of Tartan Army supporters attended European Championship matches while they had coronavirus, health experts have said.
A report from Public Health Scotland found that 1,991 people who normally reside north of the Border, and recently tested positive for coronavirus, had been identified as either attending a match at Hampden or Wembley, the fan zone at Glasgow Green, or a pub or house party where a match was being shown.
Almost 400 Tartan Army fans found later to have covid were in attendance at Wembley for the England v Scotland match on June 18, which ended goalless.
The data was gathered from Test and Protect and suggests that many of the fans did not know they were infectious when they attended Euros matches.
Supporters attending the match at Wembley were required to either show the NHS app confirming they have received both covid jags at least 14 days beforehand, or a negative lateral flow test taken within the previous 48 hours.
Nearly three-quarters of the cases were found in people aged between 20 and 39, while nine in 10 of those identified were men.
Nearly two-thirds of those identified had travelled to London for the England match.
It comes as Scotland recorded its single highest number of positive coronavirus test results on Monday with 3,285 people told to self-isolate as a result - although Nicola Sturgeon has since suggested the third wave of infections may have already peaked.
Health secretary Humza Yousaf said yesterday the cases were disproportionately being recorded among young men under-40 with meet-ups to watch football blamed.
An estimated 20,000 Scotland fans travelled to London on June 18 to cheer on the men's national team at their first major tournament in 23 years.
Yousaf said many fans had travelled in coaches with little social distancing rules in place.
The SNP health minister said: "We have some indications. If you look at the data, it's skewed disproportionately towards young males under-40.
"A number of people, public health experts and others, have commented that association is probably a result of greater indoor gathering, which could be of course be related to watching the Euros and football.
"That might account, but also some of those fans travelled to London in coaches for example - high risk, with little social distancing, if any - that also had an impact on numbers."
Scottish Conservative health spokeswoman Annie Wells said: “As we continue to fight the covid pandemic, it is concerning to see such a large number of cases associated in relation to football fans gathering together.
“While it was understandable fans were keen to enjoy the first appearance of a Scotland men’s team at a major tournament in over two decades, it is clear that greater precautions could have been taken.
“The wider public will be angry that those who ultimately broke many restrictions by travelling down south could mean our progress in fighting the virus is hampered.
“However, there was a failure from the First Minister and other SNP Ministers to deliver clear and consistent messaging over the public health risks associated with travelling to watch football.
“They are now trying to spin a positive picture that they were on top of this situation which simply wasn’t the case.
“It is critical that SNP ministers ensure that every resource is given to Test and Protect to stop any further spread of the virus and give us the best chance of easing restrictions in the coming weeks.”
