Scotland fans will be allowed to take bagpipes inside stadiums at Euro 2024.
It was feared the Tartan Army may be without their traditional soundtrack this summer due to Uefa guidelines barring “mechanical sound-emitting devices” from fixtures.
But the governing body has said the instruments will be permitted – as long as they are registered with the SFA.
Steve Clarke’s side kick off the tournament against hosts Germany on 14 June
The match will be played at the Allianz Arena in Munich, but a “prohibited items” list for the stadium warned fans to avoid bringing “mechanical or electronic noisemakers, such as megaphones and air horns”.
It also banned “other sound-emitting and speech-amplification devices,” listing “pea whistles and vuvuzelas” as examples.
However, a meeting of the Euro 2024 fan forum last week – which brought together representatives of the 21 teams qualified for the tournament finals – decided the pipes would be approved.
They added the process of registering fans’ instruments would be communictaed with the SFA “in due course”.
A spokesperson for Uefa confirmed: “Fans are welcome to bring instruments to the stadium, but they will have to register them with their respective national associations, who will be responsible for centralising their fans’ activities inside the stadium.”
Iain Emerson, editor of the Famous Tartan Army magazine, said the sound of the bagpipes could help “lift the team,” adding fans would be able to create a “party atmosphere” when the tournament kicks off.
He told BBC’s Good Morning Scotland: “I think the very thought of banning our national instrument that identifies Scotland so much throughout the world would just take so much away from the occasion.
“I was at the opening game of the World Cup in 1998 against Brazil. Brazil had their samba drums and we had the bagpipes and it was one massive party and it was fantastic.
“It is a unique atmosphere and it is unique throughout the world that we can bring the bagpipes to the game.
“Stevie Clarke knows how to get the players going but the fans backing is so important as well and this just adds to another lift we can give the team.”
Swarm of bees
Uefa prohibited the use of some devices following the 2010 World Cup in South Africa that was dominated by use of the vuvuzela from the stands.
The plastic horns – commonly used at matches in the country – created a noise similar to a swarm of bees when played in large numbers.
But they were deemed to be too loud and risked “drowning supporter emotions and detracting from the experience of the game,” European football’s governing body said.
Scotland face Switzerland in Cologne on 19 June in their second Group A match at the tournament before taking on Hungary in Stuttgart on 23 June.
