German politicians are pushing to close stadia for the rest of 2021 as cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 rise across the country.
The new variant of the disease is causing concern all over Europe with as many as 22 cases recorded in the UK.
Nine of those are in Scotland but first minister Nicola Sturgeon insists there is no cause for panic yet.
However the public are growing anxious about a potential wave of the new variant that could lead us back into a lockdown over winter.
Scottish football stadia have only just reopened fully and the impact of fans being frozen out is evident in the accounts of Rangers, Celtic and most Scottish Premiership clubs.
There has been nothing yet to suggest stadiums will be closed again in Scotland but in Germany, politicians are already pushing to play football behind closed doors for the rest of the year.
Markus Soder, the Minister President for Bavaria, tweeted: "Bavaria's proposal for football: There should be no spectators in the professional leagues by the end of the year.
"When Christmas markets are closed, full stadiums are inconsistent.
"We are proposing this across Germany and will definitely implement it in Bavaria. The goal: reduce contacts."
And that was echoed by Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer who said: “One can assume that the Bundesliga is to play on without spectators.
"That is a correct decision.”
Hendrik Wüst, who holds the same position in North-Rhine Westphalia, also spoke of "significant reductions" in fan numbers.
So far Germany has only recorded three cases of the Omicron variant.
