There could be a full-house for Rangers ’ Champions League third round qualifier second leg against Malmo next week
The Scottish Government Covid restrictions are due to be lifted a week today with Steven Gerrard’s team hosting Malmo at Ibrox the following night.
An official announcement is expected this week but if Nicola Sturgeon gives the green light, then 50,000 could be inside the stadium to see the champions for the first time in over a year.
23,000 were permitted to attend Saturday’s Scottish Premiership opener against Livingston.
The hosts began the defence of their title in emphatic style as goals from Ianis Hagi, Scott Wright and Kemar Roofe got the Gers off to a winning start.
The first game of the season would have traditionally seen the league flag being unfurled, but that has been put back to 18 September to allow as many fans in to enjoy it as possible.
And with Scotland moving away from level 0 restrictions, another 27,000 tickets could be made available the day before the Swedes are in town in a week’s time.
An end to social distancing would allow for a capacity crowd, but the Government has previously warned that this may not apply to all areas or events.
The First Minister said: "I am confident we will make progress and while are already living with far fewer restrictions than has been the case in previous stages of the pandemic all of us want to see the remaining restrictions eased as soon as possible.
"That's important to all of us as individuals, it's very important to businesses and the economy but we will need to do that with appropriate caution and an appropriate degree of care."
She noted that a final decision will be made on what happens on August 9 by August 3, this Tuesday.
Sturgeon will make the announcement during a virtual session at around 2pm.
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