SPECTATORS will have to show proof of full Covid-19 vaccination or a recent negative lateral flow test to attend sporting events with crowds of more than 10,000 people in England from today (December, 15).
The Government’s Covid Plan B measures, which apply to events like Premier League matches, have come into force after passing a Commons vote on Tuesday evening.
Read more: All the Covid rules in force in England after Plan B measures approved
Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston has called the measures “proportionate” to the situation the country faces at the moment but refused to rule out even stricter measures such as forcing clubs to reduce capacity at matches.
Stadiums have been free to operate at full capacity since final Covid restrictions were lifted in July. However, the introduction of mandatory Covid passes for large venues comes as the Premier League steps up its efforts to combat the threat posed by the Omicron variant of the virus.
For local sides, Newcastle United fans travel to Liverpool on Thursday evening where they will have to meet the new requirements put in place by the government. They will have to do the same for their home game against Manchester City on Sunday.
Middlesbrough fans will have to show proof of a Covid-19 vaccination or a negative lateral flow test when Bournemouth make the trip on Saturday for a lunchtime kick-off. They will have to do the same for all of their remaining Championship games this season.
Sunderland fans make the long trip to Ipswich Town this weekend where they will face to show proof. However, there are a handful of away games in League One against teams that have stadium capacities of less than 10,000 where the requirements will not need to be met. These include Cheltenham Town, Morecambe and Accrington Stanley.
The same will apply for Hartlepool United for a number of League Two games where ten teams in the division have over 10,000 capacities. However, they will not need to show proof for this weekend's trip to Colchester United.
Top-flight players and staff are now required to take a lateral flow test every time they want to enter their club’s training ground.
Premier League clubs have agreed to stricter measures in a week when two top-flight matches – Tottenham v Brighton and Brentford v Manchester United – have been postponed due to Covid cases.
It's anyone wishing to enter a Premier League training ground will be required to take a lateral flow test outside, while twice-weekly PCR testing is also being introduced.
The decision on increased testing was taken at a clubs’ shareholders’ meeting on Tuesday, and will sit alongside existing emergency measures around face coverings, limiting time in the treatment room and observing social distancing which were reintroduced last week.
The moves come as the highly transmissible Omicron variant becomes the dominant strain of coronavirus in the UK.
With the season about to enter the busy festive programme, clubs are desperate to avoid a raft of postponements which would create a backlog later in the campaign and could impact upon the integrity of the competition.
Widespread postponements could also leave the league open to demands for rebates from broadcast partners, which had to be paid when the 2019-20 season was suspended at the start of the pandemic.
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