October 29 – Manchester United say they have modified their Old Trafford stadium to accommodate 23,500 socially-distanced spectators – roughly one third of capacity.
United’s chief operating officer Collette Roche is convinced fans could safely attend games in person and says the ongoing ban due to the Covid-19 pandemic is “bemusing” even though cases are rising in the UK as elsewhere in Europe where many sports authorities are doing the opposite by reducing the number of spectators.
“It’s quite bemusing to understand why people can gather in other settings such as on an aeroplane or in a restaurant, or even in a cinema to watch football, when we know we’ve got the plans and the process is ready to deliver a match day here safely,” Roche told Sky.
“We spent around two months working with the government guidelines to develop the right processes and measures to make sure that we can have around 23,500 people in this stadium safely social distancing.”
United’s plans would see staggered arrival times for fans and temperature checks before entry to the stadium.
“We were really disappointed when the government decided not to allow fans back in the stadium in October because we’ve got everything in place to make sure we can do so safely,” Roche added. “The government gave us guidelines and it’s those guidelines that we have followed. I’m convinced that would be able to do so safely.”
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