Queen of the South sorry for ‘error of judgement’ in admitting George Galloway
Scottish football club says sorry to 'supporters who have been upset by his attendance' after allowing the firebrand former MP into its Boxing Day game
Queen of the South have admitted a “total error of judgement” in allowing politician George Galloway and his family to attend their Boxing Day game against Dundee.
Queens apologised on Sunday night to “supporters who have been upset by his attendance” but followed up on their brief statement on Monday.
Like the rest of mainland Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway moved into the top level of coronavirus restrictions on Boxing Day, meaning no supporters should have been admitted into grounds.
The new message read: “Reflecting on our statement to the fans last night we realise that we should have given a fuller apology.
“George Galloway was granted permission to attend our game against Dundee when Dumfries and Galloway was in tier one and fans were being allowed back into matches.
“We however accept that we should’ve readdressed the decision once the rules changed and should’ve informed Mr Galloway that he could no longer attend the match.
“We realise it was a total error of judgement and we should have been more considerate of our loyal supporters.
“We would again like to issue an unreserved apology to our fans and would like to reassure them that we fully accept and understand their anger. It was a genuine mistake that shouldn’t have been made.
“As we navigate our way through some tough times both on and off the park your valued support is needed more than ever.”
Former Labour and Respect Party MP Galloway, who is fiercely anti-Israel, had sent a tweet from Palmerston on Saturday after Dundee’s 3-1 Scottish Championship victory.
Defending his attendance, he later replied to a Queens fan on Twitter: “I live in D&G. My family have FIVE season tickets. I’m about to be a sponsor. I’m spreading the word about the club to millions of people.”
The Dumfries club had initially organised a ballot for season ticket holders to apply for the limited space available for fans at the game, but that was shelved on December 20 when post-Christmas Covid-19 restrictions were upgraded by the Scottish Government.
Police Scotland are looking into the incident. A statement read: “We are looking into the matter to establish if any offences were committed and whether any further action may be appropriate.”
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