Ian Wright and Roy Keane urge end to ‘frustrating, bizarre’ rules and allow fans’ return to football stadiums
Indoor venues have been allowed spectators to return, but football stadiums are still waiting
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Your support makes all the difference.Pundits Ian Wright and Roy Keane joined the growing number of voices asking for reconsideration over football fans being allowed back into games.
A petition asking the government to allow supporters to return to games at an open-air stadium passed the 100,000 mark in recent days, meaning a parliamentary debate should take place on the matter.
And the Premier League, FA and EFL other footballing bodies recently sent an open letter to all fans saying they had “demonstrated that we can deliver matches safely” with several test fixtures over the summer.
Meanwhile, clubs are struggling with a lack of revenue, which Keane said on ITV will lead to them going out of business if the situation does not change with regards to fans.
“Clubs will go bust, if you look at the situation [at Wembley] - you can't tell me there can't be 10,000 people in there tonight,” he said, labelling the rulings “frustrating and bizarre”.
Ian Wright concurred and said that appropriate measures should be easily put in place to allow a number of supporters into professional football grounds, considering some people are allowed into smaller cultural events.
"I'm very frustrated when you see the size of Wembley and how they can social distance in it.
"People will be worried about the concourses but when you look the measures they are doing [to get media in the ground] - and you'll have to up that - I can't understand how people can't be here.
“When you look at the Albert Hall and cinemas and seeing how they close the curtains - why can't we get fans back in now? Look at the lower league teams, they are suffering.”
Brighton had a limited number of fans in place for a pre-season game against Chelsea and several Champions League group stage fixtures are set to have a number of home fans in place, where local laws allow - but at present in England that will not be the case.
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