Bars in the stadium shut ahead of half-time
Fans outraged as Murrayfield bars shut during Lions opener
Ahead of half-time in the British & Irish Lions match against Japan, it was announced that the bars in Murrayfield would not re-open – resulting in a chorus of boos. And some fans took to social media to vent about the hospitality set-up for the tour opener and to register their disgust at rumours the ground had run dry of beer, with former Scotland captain Andy Nicol one of the most vocal dissenters.
The Scottish Rugby Union have moved to blame bar closures on “unprecedented pre-match sales” – but as you can see from a selection of Tweets below, there were some disgruntled Lions supporters in Edinburgh today.
@ScotRugbyHosp you are an absolute disgrace. @lionsofficial never host a game at Murrayfield again. Over an hour queue pre game for a beer, then 10 mins in to the game the whole stadium has “run out of alcohol” £150 for a ticket
— Tom Lloyd (@TLloyd_93) June 26, 2021
Announcements around Murrayfield that all the bars have had to be closed "due to extreme circumstances". It's….not gone down well.
— Jamie Borthwick (@jamiekborthwick) June 26, 2021
So Murrayfield has run out of beer for the @lionsofficial match!! Are you kidding me?? Queues were awful before the game and now they have run out of beer! #amateurhour #Lions
— Andy Nicol (@AndyNic9) June 26, 2021
A stadium that normally caters for 67,000 can’t deliver a match day experience for 16,500!! What a joke! Shame for fans paying huge amount and for staff having to deal with disgruntled fans. @lionsofficial #LionsRugby
— Andy Nicol (@AndyNic9) June 26, 2021
Fans in attendance were lucky enough to see the Lions defeat Japan in tour opener, but are they right to feel aggrieved about the premature closures of the bars?
Related: Alun Wyn Jones injury rules him out of Lions tour
Feeling very lucky to be able to watch @lionsofficial in the flesh but my gosh it's an utter shambles at Murrayfield. The bars have been closed because they've run out of beer, and when they did have beer the queues were insane & one of the stadium screens has died ? pic.twitter.com/48BuiG168X
— Stef Sagrott (@archaeostef) June 26, 2021
Bars have closed at Murrayfield because they've run out of beer, apparently. One of the video boards has packed in. People fizzing because of £150 a ticket (!). Have a chat with SR CEO Mark Dodson scheduled for this week, should be interesting…
— Steve Scott (@C_SScott) June 26, 2021
A spokesperson for the Scottish Rugby Union said: “Due to unprecedented pre-match sales, the decision was taken to not open bars at half-time, given the limited availability of stock around the stadium.
“This was to ensure pre-agreed social distancing guidelines could be maintained and avoid crowding. As per the match agreement, bars were scheduled to be closed from the end of half-time.
“The stadium did not run out of beer and all decisions were taken with crowd safety and social distancing in mind.”
Lions fans will be unable to attend matches in South Africa throughout the Lions tour, meaning the famous ‘Sea of Red’ will not be a fixture during this unprecedented tour.
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