Thousands of Celtic supporters to be locked out of Tannadice as Dundee United forced to close stand

Dundee United have been forced to close one of their stands at Tannadice for Sunday’s match against Celtic, meaning that around 2,000 visiting supporters will not be able to attend the cinch Premiership match.

Part of the Jerry Kerr Stand at Tannadice has been damaged.

The Jerry Kerr Stand was damaged last weekend after severe winds battered much of the east coast of Scotland due to Storm Arwen.

With particular issues with the roof, United brought in professional assessors to look at the damage as the club battled against the clock to make repairs and appease health and safety officials.

However, one of the conditions of Tannadice being able to open is that the affected area of the stadium is closed, meaning thousands of Celtic supporters will be inconvenienced.

A statement on Dundee United’s website read: “Following our statement earlier this week regarding the Storm Arwen damage to the Jerry Kerr Stand roof and having subsequently commissioned professional assessment of the damages, we have reluctantly taken the decision to close the Jerry Kerr Stand for Sunday's fixture versus Celtic due to ongoing safety concerns.

“Work has been ongoing since the weekend in an attempt to ensure the stand could be used by spectators but due to the extent of the damage and concerns remaining regarding the risk to spectators, we have been advised by the structural engineering company in conjunction with Dundee City Council Building Standards to close the stand for this fixture.

“Celtic supporters who have been allocated tickets in this stand will receive a full refund. Celtic Football Club will manage the refund process and will communicate directly with those supporters affected.

“To this end, we thank all refunded supporters for their understanding and state clearly they should not travel to Tannadice for this game.”