Should Nicola Sturgeon have discouraged Scottish Football fans without tickets from travelling to London?

And perhaps you are missing mine. That's OK. I have apologised if it upsets you.

Her Nicolaness made it law, at very short notice, that people cannot travel between Scotland and Manchester. It would have been simple to impose restrictions on flights and trains to London the other day. Instead we had pictures of crammed trains without people wearing masks - and don’t get me started on the sight of exhibitionists proving what Scotsmen don’t wear under their kilts!

No, Kali2, not at all.

I think we both feel the same but it was a decision made by UEFA, perhaps not the wisest at the moment.
Most football fans are responsible, respectable people. They have tickets, have taken Covid tests and are supposed to self-isolate on return.
The ones without tickets, who may have disobeyed rules about other things too, decided to travel against advice and why they have to trash everywhere and leave such a mess behind them is beyond my understanding.

World leaders gathered for a summit, people have been going on holiday and they probably thought it was fine for them to travel too.

We will have to wait and see now.

Thanks- so we do agree on many points. So much money in football and UEFA- distorting everything.

The thread did meander exponentially, too.

I’m not sure how she’s going to stop travel from Manchester. Friends who live there have already arrived in Edinburgh and others are still planning to travel for a Wedding Anniversary celebration at the end of next week. I wonder if someone in the know on here can explain what they can expect.

That’s why it’s all nonsense, Mollygo. I suppose they could build watchtowers armed with machine guns all along the border.

The Romans tried it (but without machine guns).

Mid-flight, preferably.

We were told not to travel. Are still being told not to travel. But we are not under house arrest in the UK and stupid will always be stupid. I don’t know what else the First Minister could have done.

Yes she should but she is a total hypocrite, she won’t condemn the Scottish fans travelling to London but the vitriol towards Rangers fans when they congregated was in a league of its own

Really feel Football should be banned totally. Too much on T.V. and it encourages bad behaviour from young people.

The moment anybody puts anything into place that restricts people and the police enforce it, the majority/media start to shout about "state control". Sadly, Johnson and Sturgeon are very limited as to what they can do to stop the minority travelling wherever they want to without the consent of the people. In England, the huge screens for the match weren't set up so fans wouldn't gather but that did not deter them. Scotland tried to dissuade fans but that did not deter them. Unless the majority of us and the press are prepared to indicate that we want control enforced, we tie the hands of our Governments.

Travelling between Totnes and Birmingham by train last Sunday morning. Loads of loud men, drinking, no masks, filling the carriage on their way to the Wales match.No sign of a train supervisor anywhere. Why are hoards allowed to meet like this, when Covid is still a real threat?

Big football matches should be banned the players can't control themselves all that hugging and kissing the fans can't control themselves yet us ordinary folk have to bear the consequences of their selfish actions by having to endure endless lockdowns

To be fair although, I detest the woman, she did tell them not to go but they just ignored her.

semperfidelis

Travelling between Totnes and Birmingham by train last Sunday morning. Loads of loud men, drinking, no masks, filling the carriage on their way to the Wales match.No sign of a train supervisor anywhere. Why are hoards allowed to meet like this, when Covid is still a real threat?

I've been on that route, rowdy teenagers throwing things and I got hit. Train supervisor eventually appeared, said he couldn't do anything but moved me to first class. So I assume they just carried on with their behaviour.

To be fair he was an old guy by himself so I can see his point but no protection for decent passengers.

Couldn't agree more.

She has an agenda. How come she stopped trains going to other parts of the country but not london.

So true

While I agree with much of what has been said the Scottish fans were able to travel into England and from quite a high Covid area without clearly taking personal responsibility. I also saw photos in the paper of the mass unmasked at Ascot which reminded me of the start of things last year with Cheltenham going ahead....all of these money makers.
We truly should only relax rules anywhere in the UK when daily numbers are below 1000, NOT 10,000 as it is. We do have to accept the low death numbers if we wish to move on. Surely people should be prosecuted and fined for flagrant rule breaking?

Silversalsa7

She has an agenda. How come she stopped trains going to other parts of the country but not london.

She stopped trains?

Did I miss that?

Get your facts right.

James I of Scotland tried to ban football BTW SJV07 . He got assassinated. These two events may be linked, who knows?

Aveline

I sometimes think we live in a different Scotland from you Alegrias. The Scots fans' behaviour was execrable. This was entirely predictable and every effort should have been made to prevent their travelling.
So I'm complaining about Nicola who sat on a fence and barely bleated about the travelling fans and the fans themselves who behaved abominably.
All for a goalless draw which will somehow have transmuted to a marvellous victory up here.

Thank you Aveline for giving us a different point of view to many Scots.
Football hooligans whatever nation should not be tolerated. She should offer to pay for all the mess and damage for cleaning up and replanting in London.
Imagine if a load of Sassenachs had trashed Princes Street gardens on Hogmany and done unmentionables around the Scots monument. She closes her ears and eyes to what she does not want to know or act on.

As for Siddique Khan why should he control Scots hooligans he was obeying Covid rules and made no allowances for large gatherings.
Now today we have the furore of English Soccer players being sent into quarantine for being in contact with a Scots who has tested positive, what about his teammates and manager whom he cuddled. I don't like soccer but I think everything should be fair for both sides. Give me a good scrum at Murrayfield for the Calcutta cup anytime

Football fans/players are a law unto themselves. Professional Football has been far less affected by lockdown etc than any other sport yet the teams still can’t play be the rules. They ‘cuddle’ each other, shout out loud and spit - all the things we are asked not to do.

20000 fans allowed to travel, 20000 votes! Some of the fans will probably have travelled to London from Dundee, an area with higher Covid rates than Manchester. The Scotland held games will attract fans from all over, Dundee included. Considering how focused NS is being on Manchester there is a big gap in her reasoning in stopping people travelling from Manchester to Scotland yet allows locals to travel about Scotland and to London where there would be fans from Manchester and Dundee supporting the teams. It's all to do with votes I'm afraid. Don't upset the fans by banning the competition. It's not just the crowd at the games, there is all the revelry usually involving alcohol that creates risks. With all the effort people have put in over the past 18 months to stay safe and to help protect others why this football competition has been allowed is beyond belief.