Hibernian’s Covid crisis deepened last night when it was confirmed that the capital club’s next two matches have been postponed.
Jack Ross’s side had been set to travel to Dingwall tonight to face Ross County in a fixture rearranged from the weekend, but they have informed the Scottish Professional Football League that they have insufficient players available to contest the match.
Hibs had been scheduled to face County without 10 first-team players, ruled out by Covid and injury, but the virus has torn through the Easter Road camp, with players, coaches and members of the development squad all affected. In a statement, Hibs said that an internal investigation had been undertaken. The original fixture against County had been postponed less than four hours before kick-off on Saturday.
Hibs’ meeting with Livingston this weekend has also been postponed, which means they will go into the Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Rangers on November 21 without having played a competitive game since their 3-1 defeat to Celtic on October 27. Hibs’s off-field problems have come on the back of a poor run of form, with the team having lost their last four games.
“Our cinch Premiership games against Ross County and Livingston have been postponed following further positive Covid tests,” Hibs said in a statement last night.
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“The games, which were due to take place on Wednesday 3 November and Saturday 6 November respectively, have now been postponed following discussions with the SPFL, NHS Lothian, and the clubs.
“This decision was made after a significant number of first-team players, staff, and development squad players tested positive over the last few days. By following all the guidelines, we wouldn’t be able to field a team for either game, which has led us to no other alternative than to postpone the fixtures.
“The individuals will not be named due to medical confidentiality and those affected will now self-isolate in line with the protocol.”
Hibernian had travelled north on Friday before their meeting with County. A member of the public subsequently complained that the Premiership side had flouted Covid regulations at the Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness. “There was a steady flow of them [in the hotel corridor] and while the vast majority of them were wearing masks, there were at least three who clearly weren’t,” Brian Trueman, a Glasgow businessman, told the Daily Record. “There was also a staff member who I held a door open for at one point who was not wearing a mask either.”
Hibs said that they will continue to take appropriate measures.
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“We are in constant discussions with NHS Lothian to reduce the spread of Covid and HTC [the Hibernian Training Centre] has subsequently been closed for a deep clean,” the statement continued. “We have also undergone an internal investigation regarding the outbreak and are confident in our processes. We will continue to take every precaution necessary as the safety of our players and staff is of absolute importance.
“We would also like to apologise to our supporters who have made plans to attend the rearranged fixture at Ross County. We made our thoughts incredibly clear to the SPFL before the fixture was rearranged, and it took them until today, after more positive tests were recorded and several meetings, to make the right decision, which we thank them for.”
Last season, the SPFL punished Kilmarnock and St Mirren for failing to fulfil fixtures following Covid outbreaks with £40,000 fines, while the games that were abandoned were awarded as victories to the opposition. However, the two clubs appealed, and it was decided that the games would be played and the fines cut in half.
An SPFL spokesman said: “After reviewing the information provided by Hibernian, their cinch Premiership matches against Ross County and Livingston this week have been postponed. New dates for both games will be announced as soon as possible.”
County, meanwhile, will be without supporters for Sunday’s meeting with Rangers at Ibrox. The Highland side have requested that a red zone be put in place to ensure their staff in the dugout are not in close contact with the home support. In order to accommodate the request, Rangers have had to relocate supporters to other areas of the ground.
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“Due to our club still requiring a red zone to maintain safe social distancing and to best protect our squad, we have been informed by Rangers that they cannot provide an away allocation as they need to relocate their fans who ordinarily would been seated in our red zone area,” County said in a statement.
“We know this will be frustrating for our supporters, as it is to our club that we cannot have you with us. At present, with a small number of our players yet to be double vaccinated we feel it is essential to maintain a red zone to maintain the high standards we have set in handling Covid-19 over the last 18 months.”
