The fixtures were published on 6 July 2020,[4] with the season beginning on 1 August, following Scottish Government approval due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland.
The league attempts to balance the fixture list so that teams in the same section play each other twice at home and twice away, but sometimes this is impossible.
After the 12 Premiership clubs were given permission to restart full-contact training by the Scottish Government from 29 June 2020,[46] it was announced that an Aberdeen player had tested positive for COVID-19 two days later.
[47] Nine days prior to the start of the season on 1 August, it was reported on 23 July that seven members of St Mirren's coaching staff had tested positive.
[50][52] Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes was critical of the group of players - namely Bruce Anderson, Craig Bryson, Sam Cosgrove, Michael Devlin, Jonny Hayes, Matty Kennedy, Dylan McGeouch and Scott McKenna - who apologised for a "huge error of judgement".
[56] Celtic manager Neil Lennon said Bolingoli "went rogue" and the club were unaware of his actions before it came to light on 10 August.
[57] Bolingoli (who tested negative for the virus) was subsequently fined £480 by the police for his breach of quarantine rules.
The SPFL initially awarded 3–0 victories to their opponents; but that decision was overturned after an appeal to the Scottish Football Association.
Limited attendance is allowed at some grounds with strict conditions under the Scottish Government Tier system, dependent on the club's geographical location.
[81] From the start of this season, highlights are shown on both Saturdays and Sundays on BBC Scotland's flagship Sportscene programme.