Neil Lennon: Celtic boss says 'Smart solutions' needed to get fans back in stadiums

Football on dangerous precipice - Lennon

Football is on a "dangerous precipice" if some "smart solutions" cannot be found to get fans back inside stadiums, says Celtic manager Neil Lennon.

A tightening of restrictions in Scotland following a rise in Covid-19 cases means test events are on hold, with a phased return of supporters delayed until at least mid-October.

Lennon hopes financial help from government will be possible.

"We should endeavour to push on with it [trying get fans back]," he said.

"I know it sounds a bit contradictory, but I think it's far safer to watch a football game in an open-air venue than a restaurant or bar indoors. Certainly you've got less chance of catching anything.

"We've seen some sporting associations yesterday saying that for the whole infrastructure of some sports in the UK it's paramount that we get supporters back."

While the Scottish restrictions will be reviewed in three weeks by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the UK government has indicated that its ban on fans attending live sport could last for six months.

"If you just look throughout UK football, whether it be in the Premier League - where they could lose £700m, that's a huge amount of money - and then you have the Championship and Leagues One and Two," added Lennon.

"It's a very dangerous precipice we're standing on and Celtic and a lot of clubs in Scotland aren't immune to that. It is a very worrying situation."

With various sports bodies lobbying the UK government for support, Lennon hopes Scotland will be included in any financial help.

"We've got to try to find some smart solutions to this," he said.

"It can't just be 'closed door' and that's it. There has to be some sort of middle ground or compromise we can find to make things better not just for football but for all sports."