If Covid data shows that there is an emergency in national health, then football is asking the government to not ban spectators from the new year.
As the game faces up to the possibility of more matches behind closed doors — with Wales introducing a ban on spectators today and crowds in Scotland limited to 500 — football authorities in England fear that a fresh bout of restrictions on spectators is imminent.
Sources close to government say that they monitor Covid data continuously and are unable to predict if fans will need to be shut down to preserve public health.
QPR Chief Executive Lee Hoos advised the Government to not rush to make a quick decision after clubs had lost nearly a whole campaign without spectators. Andy Holt, owner of Accrington warned that secrets could cause financial trouble.
The Football Association is asking the government to not lock away fans in new years.
David Moyes, Pep Guardiola and David Moyes, Premier League managers said that crowds could cause problems. Guardiola also urged people to wear masks to keep them safe and adhere to Covid regulations to avoid this happening. ‘You have to be safe, absolutely no doubt about it but let’s make sure we’re working of facts not emotions,’ said Hoos.
‘The Government’s is a sensible approach, to say: “Let’s see what the data says”. In a week, or so, how will this look? Because that’s when the cases being contracted right now will show up in the hospitalisation.
‘If it needs to happen, it needs to happen but just make sure it needs to happen. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this new variant is not as deadly and there is no need for new restrictions.’
Premier League clubs had combined gate receipts of about £700million in 2018-19, the last full season without fan restrictions.
Manchester United earned £111m from match day income and Arsenal £96m.
Conor Coady, Wolves skipper, gives his thumbs-up as he gets his booster vaccine
Adama Traore, Wolves’ forward, received his Covid booster vaccine last week
There are also losses in sponsorship clauses and merchandise sales that are not supported in the stadium.
Covid’s March 2020 hiatus also meant that TV companies needed to get rebates.
Championship side QPR had gate receipts of almost £5.4m in 2018-19, which would represent around 25 per cent of their income now in a normal year.
League One and League Two have a greater dependence on gate revenue.
With many clubs in more precarious positions than QPR, Hoos has been amazed at the industry’s capacity to hang on but predicts more clubs will follow the likes of Derby County and into administration if fans are banned.
Hoos said: ‘I was amazed there weren’t more clubs that went to the wire last time. Fair play to football fans and owners for digging into their pockets.’
City boss Pep Guardiola is urging people to wear masks and respect Covid restrictions
Holt, who slashed Accrington’s spending at the start of the pandemic to guarantee they survived financially, agreed that some EFL clubs could go to the wall if crowds are banned again.
‘It would be a terrible thing for business, and some clubs would be getting closer to the edge,’ he said. ‘It’s correct that though we had warnings early on that clubs would fold, none have, but there’s only so long it can go on.’
Football League clubs were allowed to furlough their staff, but they did not receive any bailouts for the entertainment industry or the theatre and entertainment industries. The Government argued that the Premier League was able to subside the lower leagues with enough money.
‘If that was the thought process [that the Premier League would step in and make good the losses of lower league clubs] guess what, it didn’t happen,’ said Hoos.
Coronavirus signs at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium exhort fans to adhere to protocols
After six months of bickering, the Premier League eventually agreed to put up £15m to allow Championship clubs access to interest-free loans worth a total £200m and gave £50m to League One and League Two clubs.
‘It did help. Was it enough to get us through the tough times? No it wasn’t. The was no ‘Eat out to help out’ [for football], we were told the VAT relief in the entertainment and hospitality industry didn’t apply to us, which I found incredible. We didn’t get anything except for furlough.’
Premier League clubs will be better able to absorb the financial losses from losing fans. However, it can have significant consequences.
‘I would not love closed doors again,’ Guardiola said. ‘You cannot imagine how different it is playing without people.
‘Cases are rising all around the world. People in stadiums can contaminate and then, in the stadiums, people don’t use masks.
‘It’s what I’m surprised about the most, you go to big malls, no one wears a mask. From the start, scientists have said hand sanitiser is the best form of protection. [a mask]. We should start again — vaccinated, booster, as part of that, hand sanitiser, social distance and masks. This way, football could go on.’
West Ham manager Moyes said: ‘I’d like supporters to stay at the games because I don’t want to go to how it was. We had one Europa League game in Vienna a few weeks ago when there was no crowd there and it felt rubbish.’