It was not quite a Silent Night, but not far off it.
By the standards of festive season football, all was calm and bright as the floodlights shone down on the final handful of spectators leaving the stadium, ending the Pittodrie year with a whimper rather than the expected bang.
For Aberdeen, who, in common with many, are feeling the significant financial impact of lockdowns and restrictions, it is entirely understandable that they would make every representation to avoid having thirty-odd thousand sold tickets getting swept up with the wrapping paper into the post-Christmas recycling.
As custodian of the club’s finances, it was almost incumbent upon Dave Cormack to plead for delay to the imposition of crowd limits, even if – in his use of business email’s most passive-aggressive sign-off “thank you in advance” – he clearly knew he was asking for a gift he would not receive.
Similarly, Stephen Glass raised a reasonable point when he asked why it was considered appropriate for 14,314 people to gather last week in Leith, when it had already been decided that Boxing Day’s attendance must not exceed 500.
But such questions must always be asked in the correct context.
Even those who wrote the rules would not claim that they imply crowding was safe on Wednesday but unsafe by Sunday; rather, that a fluid situation requires delicate balances be struck to preserve the health services’ capacity to function without excessively limiting citizens’ ability to enjoy Christmas.
Every rule and regulation ever put on the books must have a cut-off somewhere, however arbitrary it may appear.
The SPFL and its clubs may have more upheaval to negotiate yet, for it is far from clear that it will be business as usual by their hastened return date. Flexibility, resilience and understanding will continue to be required.
