Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Decision made on Pittodrie capacity after council meeting

Fans have attended games against BK Hacken and Dundee United in limited numbers.
Fans have attended games against BK Hacken and Dundee United in limited numbers.

Around 19,000 Aberdeen fans could be inside Pittodrie from next week after councillors approved the club’s latest application for increased attendances.

From Monday, the legal requirement for physical distancing will be lifted, with large-scale events allowed to return.

Gatherings of more than 5,000 people still require permission from local authorities under Scottish Government rules which come into force on Monday, but Dons chiefs have satisfied council bosses that capacity crowds will be safe at matches.

Limited numbers of supporters have already attended games against BK Hacken and Dundee United.

Full houses at domestic games

The club submitted a comprehensive operational plan and risk assessment in order to convince officers to approve the application.

A full house may not be possible for Thursday night’s Europa Conference League qualifier against Icelandic side Breidablik, due to European governing body UEFA’s requirement for a larger “red zone” which accommodates substitutes and team officials.

However, fans will still be permitted to attend that fixture, and a full complement of supporters will be allowed at domestic games.

Fans were allowed into Pittodrie for games against BK Hacken and Dundee United.

It means Pittodrie could now be packed to the rafters for Aberdeen’s next home league fixture against Ross County on August 28.

Permission for a full stadium has been granted indefinitely, subject to any changes in Covid-19 regulations.

‘Careful return of events’

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a “careful return of large scale events” in a briefing of MSPs earlier this week.

Most legal coronavirus rules in Scotland, including social distancing, will be lifted from Monday as part of what has been dubbed “freedom day”.

Fans will no longer need to show proof of a negative lateral flow test before they attend, but they will require face coverings and photo ID matching the name on their ticket, while the club will also be operating staggered entry times.

Council ‘worked constructively’ with club

A spokeswoman for the Dons said the club was “grateful” to the local authority for “working constructively” to get fans into the stadium.

“We’re pleased to have been granted consent for full operational capacity for the rest of the season and are grateful to Aberdeen City Council for working constructively with us,” she said.

“After hosting BK Hacken and Dundee United at Pittodrie with limited numbers we are excited by the prospect of a packed stadium for what promises to be a special European night when we take on Breidablik in the second leg of our tie against the Icelanders.

“Our latest successful application to Aberdeen City Council means that our full operational capacity has been restored offering an opportunity to create a real home advantage and surpass the 14,388 supporters who attended our match with Hibernian in March 2020, the last fixture played in front of unrestricted crowds at Pittodrie.”

This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.