YOKER Athletic management have begged supporters not to gather outside Holm Park to try and watch training sessions and matches.

Though fans are currently banned from football grounds around Scotland to try and control the recent rise in Covid-19 cases, the club says that a “minority” of Whe Ho supporters is flouting the instructions.

And officials say club volunteers have been verbally abused when they try to stop people gathering in groups at the stadium.

A Yoker spokesperson told the Post: “It is unfortunate that this week has still seen a minority of supporters ignoring the coronavirus guidelines.

“During the past weeks there have been a number of people gathering to try and view training and matches.

“The club and Holm Park have had to put a range of measures and procedures into place over the past six months to safeguard the players and staff and ensure the measures allowing a return to training and matches are in place during this pandemic at a considerable cost to both the club and the venue.

“Sadly due to albeit a minority of people, whether they be supporters of the club, parents, family or friends of players in the U20’s or Youth Academy teams, or just people in the local community, the club and venue are now having to look into new, costly measures to try and stop these breaches of the Scottish Government guidelines, at a time when very little money is coming into the club.

“It is extremely frustrating when as a club we have gone to great lengths to ensure all our players can get back to some type of normality, such as the ability to train and play matches in a safe environment and that a minority of people are making this almost impossible to do.

“With the exception of the players, everyone else working at the club is doing their job voluntarily and during this pandemic have had to retrain to ensure we have all the relevant positions covered to allow us to get back to this stage.

“To learn that these people have had to put up with abuse from people outside the ground trying to spectate during training and friendly matches is something we will not tolerate.

“We fully understand the frustration of supporters, players’ families, and friends who want to see a football match. However, under the current Scottish Government and SFA guidelines, there are no spectators allowed at any football match or training session throughout the country.

“We would again plea to our supporters, the families and friends of our Youth Academy teams, and the local community to help us ensure that we can continue to have our players train and play friendly matches by staying away from Holm Park and following the government guidelines.

“We do not want to have to consider stopping training sessions or abandoning matches if there are spectator breaches. However, it is a decision we may be forced to look at to ensure the safety of our players and staff if this continues.”