Clyde v East Fife postponed following positive Covid-19 test

Darren Young fully backed his players after they refused to take part in Tuesday night's away fixture at Clyde.
East Fife's match at Clyde was called off at the very last secondEast Fife's match at Clyde was called off at the very last second
East Fife's match at Clyde was called off at the very last second

As both teams were making their way out onto the park to start the game, matchday officials and safety officers approached the Bayview management team to advise them that a Clyde player had tested positive for Covid-19.

There was some confusion in the minutes that followed, the two sets of players continuing to warm up, with it announced kick off would initially be delayed by 15 minutes.

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But it quickly became apparent that something serious was going on behind the scenes and representatives from clubs, plus other officials, discussed matters at length at the dug outs.

It was then confirmed the game had been abandoned with Young revealing he first consulted with his squad before the call was made.

The response from the East Fife players was resounding that the game had to be called off, and Young totally understands the reasons why.

He said: "One of their players has come back as testing positive and found out 40 minutes ago.

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"Why it has happened that late towards a game I don't have a clue.

"The guy in question, whoever that may be, was on one of the buses up to Peterhead on Saturday and may well have passed it on, we don't know.

"He was also in changing tonight and done the warm up as well until they found out about the test and sent him away.

"I possibly would have been ok to play but I needed to speak to the players and the chairman.

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"The chairman was a no and and then when I spoke to the guys, three or four of them have partners who are pregnant so I definitely could not put guys like that at risk.

"The boys were also saying that if they played against players who have been around this guy then they might have to self isolate through the track and trace.

"Will their employer pay them if they can't work for 10 or 12 days?

"So that was it and I'll back my players to the hilt.

"The decision was no."

A Clyde statement said: "The club can confirm that, following a positive Covid-19 test in the squad tonight, a review was conducted by the Joint Response Group, who subsequently confirmed that tonight's Clyde v East Fife match could go ahead.

"However, East Fife took the decision not to fulfil the fixture, leaving the referee with no option but to postpone the match.

"The club will make further comment when possible."

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