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Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has called for “consistency” from the Government and urged them to allow spectators back into sports matches.
A rise in coronavirus cases in the UK paused plans to re-open stadiums on a partial basis from October 1, and the Premier League is among the governing bodies who wrote an open letter urging the Government to reconsider this proposal.
League champions Liverpool were among the clubs who backed the letter, while Manchester United joined the EFL’s Twitter account in sharing a petition to let football fans attend matches at all levels.
As of Thursday morning that petition had surpassed 180,000 signatures, comfortably beyond the 100,000-mark required to be a topic of debate in Parliament.
Speaking to The Times, Masters said sport must be treated “as fairly as other activities” given concert venues are currently allowed to hold socially-distanced events indoors.
Masters said: “It’s good news that [concert] venues can run socially-distanced events indoors, it gives them a lifeline.
We are starting to see the return of the paying spectator at a ticketed event and we just believe that football should be allowed to do the same.
“We do understand why caution is needed but what we are asking for is consistency from government so that sport is treated as fairly as other activities.
“We are a highly regulated environment.
We have the Sports Grounds Safety Authority in place to ensure that supporters are safe at all times and we’re outdoors in a highly stewarded environment.
What we really need is clarity for our clubs and supporters and a road map from government.”
Masters said Premier League clubs feel as though they have been hit by a “quadruple whammy” and was critical of the notion that top-tier clubs should bail out teams in the EFL while their own doors remain closed.
There has also been dialogue with counterparts in Germany, Masters revealed, with the Bundesliga starting it’s season with a capacity at 20 per cent so long as the seven-day rate of infection is below or equal to 35 per 100,000 in the local region.
“There’s a frustration that there is that inconsistency and we would urge the Government to treat sport in the same way as the entertainment industry,” Masters added.
“The clubs feel they have been hit with a quadruple whammy firstly that the optimism of October 1 has been taken away; secondly that there will be a sports bailout but that it wouldn’t include football; thirdly that the Premier League will be expected to secure the future of the EFL while dealing with the implications of having no fans until possibly March; finally the opening up of entertainment arenas within sometimes a couple of miles of football grounds without any road map for the return of football supporters.
“The Government is managing the country around local conditions so we have to be flexible in that respect.
We have been in regular conversation with our German counterparts and we are aware of how it’s working and how it is not working for some clubs where the numbers are higher.
Like everything, you have to start somewhere and just to do it would be fantastic.”
Vincent Paul
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