St Johnstone has thanked its supporters for their “patience and understanding” after it was confirmed the 2021 Scottish Cup final will be played behind closed doors.
Plans for a crowd of 600 for the May 22 clash between Saints and Hibernian at Hampden Park were announced on Thursday but were benched a little over 24 hours later.
The decision was made after the Scottish Government announced on Friday afternoon that Glasgow would remain under level three restrictions along with Moray after the city experienced a fresh surge of COVID-19 cases.
Perth and Kinross and most of Scotland moved to level two yesterday (May 17).
Last week UEFA had initially given the go ahead for fans to attend despite the stadium needing to be prepared for Euro 2020 matches, when around 12,000 fans will be present.
The SFA asked the Scottish Government for approval to let in more than the 500 spectators permitted in level two of coronavirus restrictions.
The Scottish Government outlined then that the final decision to increase capacity would lie with the local authority, in this case Glasgow City Council.
The stadium safety advisory group for Hampden Park, which Glasgow City Council chaired, was in the midst of reviewing the possibility of increased capacity before the goal posts were moved on Friday.
On Friday the SFA statement read: “Following today’s Scottish Government announcement that Glasgow will remain under level three COVID restrictions for at least another week, the Scottish Government has subsequently confirmed that fans will now not be permitted to attend the Scottish Cup final.”
Afterwards St Johnstone said in a statement: “The football club has received clarification from the SFA that the Scottish Cup final must now be played behind closed doors.
“The decision to allow 600 supporters into the stadium no longer stands.
“This is down to the Scottish Government’s decision that Glasgow should remain in level three for a period of time as a precaution against higher levels of COVID-19 infections.
“Once again, we thank all of our supporters for their patience and understanding on this matter.”
