Coronavirus in Scotland: Old Firm clash set to go ahead but all Scottish football matches in jeopardy from next week

First minister Nicola Sturgeon advises cancellation of events over 500 people

Football matches in Scotland - including Sunday's Old Firm match at Ibrox between Rangers and Celtic - are set to go ahead as planned this weekend, but matches beyond that are in jeopardy due to coronavirus measures that will come into place next week in the country.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has revealed that the Scottish Government will "advise the cancellation" of mass gatherings of 500 people or more from the start of next week.

Speaking at First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, Ms Sturgeon said: "The daily update of confirmed cases will be published at 2pm today as normal.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (right) at Hampden Park with Scotland Women's national team manager Shelley Kerr. Picture: SNS

“I can tell Parliament we will see a sharp rise in cases today. We may also see further evidence of community transmission of coronavirus.

“The Health Secretary and I have decided this morning that we are minded that we will advise the cancellation, from the start of next week, of mass gatherings of 500 people or more.

“Our emergency services are likely to suffer from higher than normal sickness absence rates in the weeks and months ahead and our NHS, in particular, will be under significant pressure. It's important we protect that resilience as much as possible.”

That means that all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) matches are likely be played under normal circumstances with supporters permitted to attend, but matches taking place from Monday onwards are likely to under restriction.

It is unclear as yet whether the games scheduled for the week commencing March 16 will be played behind doors or postponed to a later date.

The SPFL and the SFA (Scottish Football Association) are expected to provide an update in due course.