The Premier League have taken the first steps towards allowing fans back into the stadium as the league prepares to restart next week behind closed doors.
Premier League bosses and the government are discussing ways of allowing supporters to return to stadiums in the UK.
Medical experts were also present for the talks, to discuss the feasibility of fans being safe on a match day, according to the Mirror .
The news will give hopes to cash strapped clubs that they may be able to stabilise their finances whilst seeing the lifeblood of the game – the fans – once again in attendance.
There is even hope that fans could be allowed in the FA Cup final on August 1 although a decision on that is not likely to be taken until the progress made for the premier league resumption has been properly estimated..
The clubs now have a full picture of what match days will look like in lockdown. Players will be given electronic passports, that show their testing history with covid-19, before they are allowed to enter a stadium or facility.
Further to this, the Premier League have continued to clamp down on their no-spitting, no-nose clearing, no-handshaking, no hugging and no high-fiving guidelines ahead of next weeks comeback.
Players will have their own labelled water bottles as matches will have drinks breaks in the middle of each half. Clubs will be encouraged to travel via plane to any longer distance away matches, with clubs and the league getting in touch with airports to discuss their travel options.
Claretandhugh says: This really comes as no surprise with the Premier League determined to do everything in its power to get things back too normal as soon as possible. But there will undoubtedly be those among us who will feel very cautious about returning to public gatherings until we can be absolutely certain there is no risk. It is all very well making social distancing arrangements inside the stadiums but the getting there and back is another thing entirely with the risks associated with coronavirus and public transport. At the end of the day of course it will be up to each individual to make his or her own decision on whether they are ready to attend games. With some people only being advised to go out once a day and the older population being advised to show restraint we are likely to see the younger element of the fan base inside stadiums if indeed this gets the go ahead.
What interests me here Hugh is yet another change that effects the game. The water break is like a time out giving a team a chance to regroup and get some direction from the manager if they are struggling or could serve to disrupt a team that has momentum and is threatening. I realize the breaks are for health reasons in the summer heat and are reasonable from that perspective. And I realize they have been used in other competitions. The difference here is that it has not been a consistent occurrence across the entirety of this competition creating yet another disparity, just like the increased substitutes change that favors the richer teams with deeper squads. If I were the legal eagles for the teams that could go down, I’d be adding both issues to my argument for the inevitable legal challenge that the outcome of the season is unfair.