Ross County could ask the SPFL to hold an inquiry into the circumstances that led to the late postponement of their Premiership fixture against Hibernian.
The Victoria Park encounter was called off at mid-day after Hibs informed the Dingwall side of a Covid outbreak which left them without enough available players.
Two Hibs players – who were asymptomatic – returned positive lateral flow tests on the morning of the game, by which point the squad was already at the team hotel in Inverness.
A number of fellow players were subsequently identified as close contacts, meaning they must now return a negative PCR test result in order to be available – provided they are double vaccinated.
That left Hibs manager Jack Ross without enough players to play in the match, with league rules preventing them from calling up players from their under-18s squad who had participated in a fixture less than 24 hours previously.
The Staggies did not receive contact from Hibernian until shortly after 11am, when they were informed the Easter Road outfit could not fulfil the match.
By that stage supporters of both clubs had already started travelling to the game, with the Dingwall club having also made catering and hospitality arrangements.
The Staggies donated their cooked hospitality meals to the Capstone Centre in Alness following the postponement.
With today’s game postponed, Red Poppy Catering (our Hospitality partner) and Ross County FC donated today’s cooked hospitality meals to the Capstone Centre in Alness.
The Capstone Centre is a local community hub supporting the people of Alness and surrounding areas 💙 pic.twitter.com/m5GPi2FK7T— Ross County FC (@RossCounty) October 30, 2021
County are keen to find out if the call-off could have been made at an earlier stage however, and could even seek compensation to cover the lost revenue.
In a club statement, Ross County said: “Ross County are extremely disappointed with this situation and apologise to all home and away supporters and staff travelling to this fixture as a result of this decision which is entirely due to circumstances beyond our control.”
A Hibernian statement said: “We followed all the Covid protocols prior to this match and once we found out about the positive tests.
“Once we were aware of the tests we made contact with the SPFL and Ross County to discuss the postponement of the fixture. Once the SPFL received our information, they agreed to postpone the fixture.”
County had been looking to build momentum, having recorded their first league win of the season in spectacular fashion in Wednesday’s 5-0 triumph over Dundee.
The Dark Blues’ victory over St Mirren means Malky Mackay’s side are now four points adrift at the foot of the table, having played a game less.
Hibs were making the trip to the Highlands aiming to end a run of four straight defeats.
No details have yet been issued about a rescheduled date for the fixture.
