Leeds handed major blow after official statement on Tuesday
Leeds United have been handed a major blow on Tuesday after Michael Gove and Boris Johnson confirmed that fans would not be coming back into stadiums on October 1.
That was the plan but a recent spike in Coronavirus numbers have led to the government pulling back. And a recent BBC report has claimed fans might not be back until the end of March.
Asked in a BBC interview if fans would come back on October 1, Gove replied, “No.”
He went on to say, “It wasn’t the case that we’d have stadiums thronged with fans.
“We’re looking for the moment at how we can pause that programme.
“What we do want to do is ensure that, as and when circumstances allow, we get more people back because the virus is less likely to spread outdoors than indoors.
“But, again, it’s in the nature of major sporting events that there’s a lot of mingling.”
This was confirmed by prime minister Boris Johnson and, in a later BBC report, it was claimed that fans might not be allowed back into stadiums until the end of March. That has to create the real possibility that Leeds fans might not be back for the whole of the 20/21 season.
That comes after West Ham’s David Moyes, Issa Diop and Josh Cullen tested positive while at the stadium for the Hammers’ EFL game on Tuesday night. They’re the most high profile positive tests since the lockdown.
Huge blow for Leeds
This is a major blow, not only to Leeds United in terms of lost revenue, but to the fans as well.
Leeds fans have already had to miss out on watching their side get promoted.
They’ve also had to miss out on watching their club’s first games back in the Premier League, with a 4-3 opening day defeat at Liverpool one of the most exciting games of the season so far.
The last time fans were in Elland Road was back in early March, when Leeds beat Huddersfield 2-0.
To make things worse, fans are coming back in other countries, with the Bundesliga taking in fans on the first day of the season.
Stadiums were allowed between 10 and 25% capacity and that must really stick in the craw of Leeds fans.
Without wanting to get too political, it seems that the UK government hasn’t got a handle on the virus, like other European countries, and that’s going to hit clubs very hard with further loss of revenue.
However, the most important thing is that the season continues and isn’t disrupted like the 19/20 campaign.
The positive tests from the West Ham camp are worrying and Totttenham’s EFL game was postponed last night after a raft of positive tests from Leyton Orient.
It’s worrying times again for football and the next month could be critical in how the season develops.
In other Leeds United news, ‘Wow’, ‘Is this for real?’, ‘Pathetic’ – Many Leeds fans react as plans of PL rivals reported