TODAY’S announcement from Nicola Sturgeon that fans will be allowed back into football stadia in Scotland is a welcome surprise but questions must be asked as to why the restrictions were introduced in the first place.

When the attendance cap of 500 spectators was imposed by the SNP administration on Tuesday 21st December the number of new cases of Covid 19 per day was 5,232.

As of yesterday, there were 11,728.

The numbers have more than doubled yet the restrictions are being lifted.

Incredibly, the Scottish Government admitted the initial conclusion didn't follow the rigours associated with science-led decision making.

Scotland’s National Clinical Director Jason Leitch said at the time: "Of course, you have to draw the line somewhere, we’ve drawn it at a variety of points over the last little while,” he said.

"It’s very difficult to choose a number, you can either choose zero, 10,000 or somewhere in between.

"It’s a judgement, it’s of course based on trying to keep the risk as low as you possibly can but the alternative is just to close them down completely.

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"There isn’t a particular public health route that takes you to 500 people.”

This decision alone was controversial and smacked of a government trying to make political capital and football looking an easy mark to make a point. There was widespread condemnation from fans up and down the country and rightly so.

It seemed all the more bizarre considering just over the border there were full houses at English football stadia, not to mention a packed out Alexandra Palace for the PDC World Darts Championship.

On a personal level, having been in attendance at the Leeds United v Burnley game on January 2nd, it was staggering to think Elland Road could be packed to the rafters yet top-flight football in Scotland had been effectively closed down.

It doesn’t help when Jason Leitch is quoted as saying the restrictions imposed were “quite minor” in containing the rate of infection.

In an interview with The Times, he said: “The differences between the four countries are quite minor, actually, in terms of restrictions, but also in terms of that data.

“If you want to do the comparison, Northern Ireland’s number is much higher than ours. Wales is higher. England and Scotland is very similar. We were lower than them, now they’re catching up a little bit.”

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From the outset, it appears the Scottish Government were simply looking to take a different path to that of the UK Government. I will leave you to draw your own conclusions as to why. Was it clinical and based on evidence, or political?

Speaking at Holyrood this afternoon, Ms Sturgeon said: “We will begin to lift the protective measures announced before Christmas from Monday, but we will do that in a phased way that will allow us to form in the days ahead a clearer picture of the trends in infections and the associated impacts.

“The measures I’m specifically referring to here are limits on attendances at live public events, the requirement for distancing between groups in public indoor places, and the requirement for table service in hospitality venues serving alcohol on the premises.

“I expect to confirm further dates next week, however, I can confirm today that the attendance limit of 500 at large-scale outdoor events will be lifted from Monday, January 17. This means for example that spectators will be permitted again at major outdoor sporting events including football fixtures scheduled for early next week and the forthcoming Six Nations rugby matches.”

Restrictions eased just in time for the rugby. Who'd have guessed it?

What rankles is the fact it has had a detrimental impact on a large number of people not to mention the football clubs affected.

Rangers, Motherwell, Hearts, Dundee United and Aberdeen have lost out on thousands of pounds in revenue from their Boxing Day matches that were, in effect, behind closed doors.

These clubs deserve to be reimbursed by those in positions of power who seem to be making huge decisions without transparent evidence to back their choices.

An explanation must also be sought as to why they felt it right to reduce their capacities in such a fashion.

On the face of it, the decision by the majority of SPFL clubs to bring forward the winter break in the hope of allowing fans back into the grounds now looks like the correct call.

However, going forward, as much as it’ll be a welcome sight to see fans back on the terraces, there remains a real concern over a potential fixture pile-up given what SPFL Chief Executive Neil Doncaster has previously said about the lack of dates available to fulfil any rearranged fixtures.

There is no leeway. A single bout of adverse weather could prove catastrophic to the fixture calendar.

Therefore it’s perhaps a little premature to be shouting from the rooftops about today’s U-turn.

As much as it's great to see good sense finally prevailing, the original decision to shut out fans could yet come back to haunt the SPFL and the 10 clubs who voted to bring forward the winter break.