Plans for spectators to attend sporting events in England from 1 October are to be reviewed, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed.
Johnson, speaking at a Downing Street news conference, also said sporting events in September would be restricted to 1,000 fans with social distancing measures in place.
“We must revise plans to pilot larger audiences in venues later this month and review our intention to return audiences to stadiums from 1 October,” said Johnson.
“But that doesn’t mean we are going to scrap the programme entirely. We are just going to have to review it and abridge it.”
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “In light of increasing transmission rates, the government is reviewing the proposed sports and business events pilots ahead of 1 October and we will unfortunately need to scale some back.
The premier League chief has expressed the worries about the impact of absent fans in games would do the sport financially
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters says it is “absolutely critical” that fans are allowed back inside stadiums as soon as possible.
He says failure to do so will cost clubs £700m during the 2020-21 season, which starts on Saturday.