Report: Now you can take the masks off inside the stadium
The Hammers v Man U will be the first game to see a couple of thousand back inside the London Stadium and it had been believed that masks would be mandatory.
However, The Telegraph is reporting that supporters will be ‘spared temperature checks and face masks inside stadiums under government guidance to be sent to the sporting bodies on Monday.’
It’s yet another convoluted twist in the various strains of advice we are receiving from on high as we all attempt to make some sort of logic out of the often changing instructions.
Hammers fans will be seated in the lower tier of the Billy Bonds stand for the United game and the idea that they would all have to be masked seemed a bit daft anyway given the amount of space available for social distancing.
This, of course, will be the first time in nine months any have been lucky enough to watch live although personally, I think many would find watching a game within a 60k stadium with just 2,000 inside quite an eerie atmosphere.
The Hammers had made plans for temperature checking, staggered leaving, mask-wearing and social distancing – now they may be able to stop some of those plans as the government apparently is ready to let clubs make their own decisions.
It is reported however that many clubs will err heavily on the side of caution and request that supporters follow all safety measures.
The World Snooker Championship ordered spectators to wear masks in the concourse at Sheffield, but not while sitting at their socially-distanced seats.
Many football clubs are expected to follow this form of protocols, with supporters expected to have to wear masks on approach to the stadium and during entry and seating, before being permitted to remove these while the game is in play.