It Is Important For Fans To Return To Stadiums – Premier League

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It Is Important For Fans To Return To Stadiums – Premier League

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.

Football has been played behind closed doors since its return in June following the coronavirus lockdown.

As it stands, no fans will be admitted to top-flight matches in England before October at the earliest.

Speaking later on Wednesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced there will be a “review” of plans to bring fans back into stadiums from 1 October in England, amid growing numbers of positive Covid-19 cases.

Masters told BBC Sport that matches behind closed doors “can’t go on forever”, as clubs have already lost more than half a billion pounds from the disruption to the final quarter of last season.

“We have to get back to fans inside stadia as quickly as possible – that’s the big thing that’s missing, economic or otherwise – we need fans back inside stadiums for all sorts of reasons and it’s the number one priority,” he said.