Aberdeen manager Stephen Glass has backed Dons chairman Dave Cormack’s appeal for the restriction on fans attending matches to be delayed until midnight on Boxing Day.
The SPFL has announced the winter break will be brought forward due to the Scottish Government’s announcement attendance will be restricted to 500 fans from Sunday with this weekend’s matches the last competitive top flight games until January 17 and 18, 2022.
The Dons are due to host Dundee at Pittodrie on Boxing Day in what will be their final game before the break and Cormack has appealed to Nicola Sturgeon to delay the restrictions until midnight to allow Premiership clubs to host spectators as normal and his manager is backing the proposal.
Glass said: “It makes sense. Hopefully common sense does prevail. A lot of people would like to see that.
“A lot of people are home for Christmas and would like to go to a football match if they feel safe.
“It’s an outdoor environment and people feel safe. It would be nice if we had the opportunity on Boxing Day to make that choice.”
Glass hopes for a change in the restrictions for Sunday but he fully supports the decision to start the break after the Dundee game.
He said: “I think it makes sense to bring it forward. I thought they would have brought it forward further.
“There was certainly scope to squeeze one extra game in at the end of the season.
“There is an appetite for folk to come and see a game when they feel safe.
“But we don’t make the rules. We just have to adhere to them.”
While the Dons wait to hear whether their appeal for the restrictions to be delayed is successful Glass was frustrated at seeing his side’s three-game winning run end in defeat at Hibernian.
Ryan Porteous scored the only goal of the game and the Dons boss was unhappy at the manner in which the goal was conceded.
He said: “It’s disappointing any time you lose a game but we looked like we lacked energy which was the biggest disappointment for me.
“We should have been fresh coming off the back of three wins.
“We were comfortable and didn’t look like losing a goal but we were not threatening enough. I felt we could effect that with the change.
“I don’t think Hibs really deserved to win but they got the goal from the set piece. Neither team did enough in open play.
“There are two corners in succession but there’s a foul on Declan. We’re getting called for blocking at the other end but it’s OK to block Declan at our end.
“But that’s not why we lost the goal. We lost one of the main threats at the set piece, that’s why we lost it.”
While there was disappointment for Glass, new Hibs boss Shaun Maloney was delighted to start his tenure with a win at Easter Road.
He said: “I’m very proud of the players for how they played and also how they defended in the last 15 minutes considering how they played in the cup final.
“They were incredible really and part of the reason why the game started to go the way it did.
“Aberdeen have to take credit. They were good in the second half.
“We had two sessions with the players so huge credit to them. They have been really open-minded so all the praise must go to them.”
