No vaccine passports or disinfection pods for Euros at Hampden, says Jason Leitch

Football fans returning to Hampden Park during the Euro 2020 games this summer will most likely not have to show vaccine passports or pass through “disinfection pods”, National Clinical Director Jason Leitch has said.

Prof Leitch told a Covid-19 briefing on Thursday that while plans were yet to be finalised, he “does not anticipate” these measures being used.

The Scottish Government has given approval for 12,000 spectators to attend matches – 25 per cent of the stadium’s capacity.

Scotland are due to play the Czech Republic on June 14 and Croatia eight days later.

Asked what Covid-19 prevention measures may be put in place, Prof Leitch said: “The detail is to be worked out, but I think I can already tell you no disinfection pods, I don’t anticipate disinfection pods, and I also don’t anticipate vaccine passports for outdoor events at Hampden,” he said.

Disinfection pods, which were used when some fans returned to sporting events in late 2020, use UV light and sanitising spray to kill germs on people’s clothes and belongings.

Prof Leitch said the return of fans in Scotland is more likely to see social distancing measures instead.

A member of public pauses in a Disinfection Pod prior to the UEFA Euro 2020 Play-off Finals match at Windsor Park, Belfast.

"I think there will be some what we call "non-pharmaceutical interventions” in place, I imagine there will be distanced queuing, and I imagine we will control public transport differently from how we do it now, and people will be ‘distanced’ in the stadium, so tickets will be distributed in groups if we manage to get to that point where we’ve got 12,000 people.”

Prof Leitch said the 12,000 figure was based on careful modelling.

"The 25 per cent [capacity] allows you to do pretty good distancing, not quite two metres at every step, but pretty good distancing,” he said.

"There will be decisions made about face coverings. Some of that will be Scottish rules, and some of it will be UEFA rules."

First Minister said on Wednesday that she was “delighted” fans would be returning.

“This is a significant moment which celebrates just how far Scotland has come in tackling the Covid pandemic.

“Allowing fans to come together to watch Scotland play at our national stadium is a huge milestone, thanks to the dedication of fans sticking to the public health guidance.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.