'Circuit breaker' looms for EPL

LONDON • Fears are growing that English football could revert to a ban on fans, with three English Football League teams staging games behind closed doors from Boxing Day yesterday.

Last week, the Welsh government moved all sporting events behind closed doors, with Cardiff, Swansea and Newport all affected, while crowds in Scotland have been limited to 500.

To combat the surge in Covid-19 cases, primarily driven by the Omicron variant, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said "we will have to reserve the possibility of taking further action to protect the public".

According to website Football London, government sources indicate tomorrow would be a starting date for a "circuit breaker" that could stretch to the end of next month, depending on data.

The Daily Telegraph also reported that clubs have already "been warned restrictions may be necessary in January".

These measures are said to mirror the country's "Step 2" rules, which were implemented back in April, banning large gatherings at events, the closure of indoor hospitality and no household mixing.

The Premier League has already drawn up contingency plans, including the live screening of all matches and the return of staggered kick-off times should games be forced behind closed doors again, like last season and part of the campaign before that.

A return to empty stands would be a financial disaster - Premier League clubs had gate receipts of about £700 million (S$1.27 billion) in 2018-19, the last full season without fan restrictions.

However, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola still hopes that the worst-case scenario can be avoided, calling on the authorities to instead impose more stringent measures on those attending fixtures.

Supporters must be double vaccinated or present a negative antigen rapid test result within 48 hours of a game, but there are no further restrictions beyond that at grounds across the country.

"I would not love it, honestly," the Catalan said of the prospect of playing in front of empty stands.

"You cannot imagine how different it is playing without people. But cases are rising all around the world, not only in the UK.

"These people go to the stadiums and they can contaminate. In the stadiums, people don't wear masks. It's what I'm surprised about the most...

"We should start again - vaccination, booster if this is what is decided, but as part of that, hand sanitisers, social distancing and masks too.

"This way, football could go on.

"I trust the scientists because they know exactly, absolutely more than I know... People don't die when they take a vaccine, people can die if they don't take a vaccine... We have to try to do it otherwise, another barrier is coming."

Three weekend games - Burnley v Everton, Liverpool v Leeds and Wolves v Watford - have been postponed, and none has been rearranged yet.

Aston Villa yesterday hosted Chelsea but were hit by the absence of manager Steven Gerrard, after he tested positive for the virus.

Villa's trip to Leeds tomorrow was yesterday postponed due to virus cases in the Leeds squad.

Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira also missed his side's trip to Tottenham yesterday because of a positive test just hours before kick-off.

REUTERS