Plea not to banish fans from stadium
‘THE GAME IS NOT THE SAME WITHOUT THE SUPPORTERS’
SUNDERLAND’S Jamie McAllister has urged the Government not to put football back behind closed doors saying ‘the game is not the same without fans’.
Rising fears over the latest Covid variant Omicron has prompted the Welsh government to order sporting fixtures to go ahead without fans over Christmas, while the Scottish government has restricted attendances to 500.
At present, the Westminster government is sticking to its plan to allow crowds of more than 10,000 to attend events as long as spectators can produce either a Covid pass or evidence of a negative lateral flow test, but there remains the possibility of more stringent measures - or even a return to sporting fixtures taking place behind closed doors, as they did for virtually the whole of last season.
Black Cats assistant head coach McAllister hopes it does not come to that, saying it would be a blow for Sunderland to lose the backing of their supporters inside grounds mid-season - and, more importantly, it would deprive the fans of the opportunity to watch their team.
Sunderland took more than 5,000 fans to the Emirates Stadium for their midweek Carabao Cup quarterfinal at Arsenal, and McAllister said: “The fans have been top drawer.
The other night at the Emirates. they were outstanding.
“Even arriving on the bus before the game, in the pubs around and about, singing the songs, it was incredible.
“They’ve been behind us all season and that’s what it is all about. The game is not the same without the fans.
“I think [Arsenal manager] Mikel Arteta touched on it after the game, if you take the fans away the game is not the same. It’s important that the fans are still allowed to come. “What is being put in place now, as far as crowds of more than 10,000 allowed as long as you have proof that you’ve been doublejabbed or that you’ve tested negative, is the right way to go. We want to see fans at the games as long as its safe for them to do so. “We don’t want to go back to playing in front of empty grounds again like we had last season, that’s for sure.” Sunderland were beaten 5-1 by the Gunners and, while the Premier League side outclassed League One opposition, McAllister says the Black Cats can take pride in their performance and it will give them added confidence as they refocus on their promotion campaign which continues after Christmas at Doncaster Rovers on Monday.
He said: “The 5-1 scoreline suggests that we were beaten heavily but I thought the lads were excellent in spells of the game.
“When we scored to make it 2-1, we were the better team for 15 or 20 minutes at the end of the first half.
“It showed the lads the level we want to get to and where we want to be, but also that they can compete and they can play against one of the top four in the Premier League.
“The lads conducted themselves very well for probably 40 minutes of the 90, but once we went 3-1 and then 4-1 down it became very easy for Arsenal to go out and play and dictate possession. We take the positives from it and move on, and hopefully try to take it into the league.”