Brighton demand fans’ return before backing EFL rescue
Barber says smaller top-flight sides need to pay own bills first Pre-season match showed safe attendance was possible
Brighton have ramped up pressure on the Government to reopen stadiums next month by warning that smaller Premier League clubs cannot afford to bail out the cashstrapped lower tiers until crowds are allowed back.
Brighton’s chief executive, Paul Barber, explained to The Daily Telegraph how pre-season spectator testing at the Amex Stadium had convinced him England’s top tier was safe to welcome back fans, despite a recent fresh surge in Covid-19 cases nationally.
However, Barber said getting crowds back next month was critical to ensure the world’s richest domestic league was able to get its own finances in order to support the lower tiers, as ministers want.
The English Football League is seeking a bail-out of up to £250 million from the top-flight clubs, with lower-tier sides on the brink of collapse following the pandemic.
“As a club that is very much in touch with its past and remembers what it was like to be at the lower levels, we in principle certainly support helping our colleagues in the lower levels if and where we can,” he said. “But we need to be able to pay our own bills first and if we are able to pay our own bills first, then we need to get our fans back in the stadium soonest.”
Brighton are planning lengthy
pre and post-match entertainment, including on-pitch manager interviews, in an attempt to ease the pressure on transport networks when crowds return. The club arealso renting out park and ride schemes to stagger arrival times.
Speaking out after Boris Johnson last week announced a review over the proposed Oct 1 return, Barber said: “What we’re trying to say is that, in support of the Government’s rule of six, we believe it’s safer for people to watch games live
in a stadium – where we are heavily regulated – than it would be for people to gather in their own living rooms or in bars or pubs.”
Sources close to talks about a possible bail-out for lower-tier clubs say the EFL must fall into line with its yet-to-be-agreed curtailment rules before it is approved.
Barber said “everything can flow” from the reopening of stadiums “because it’s really important that we recognise that at this club alone, we’ve got over 300 full-time jobs and up to 600 or 700 part-time jobs” to protect.
“I’ve got a responsibility to protect the near-1,000 people that directly rely on us for their livelihoods,” he added.
“In order to do that, I’ve got to get fans back in the stadium soon. Once I’ve got the fans coming back, the combination of match-day income and television income should then leave us in a position where we can provide support further down the pyramid.”
Brighton’s contribution to the local economy is estimated at £250 million a year. “That’s a massive impact on the local people and their job prospects,” said Barber.
“So if you multiply that up and down the country, then the effect of not having fans in the stadiums for a very long period is significant and potentially very, very damaging.”
Barber still believes he can get “somewhere between 25 and 30 per cent capacity under the current guidelines” if the Government gives the go-ahead.
Citing the pre-season game against Chelsea, attended by 2,500 spectators, Barber said: “We had representatives from the Sports Ground Safety Authority and from the DCMS [Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport] observing everything that was going on.
“What was really striking about the whole experience was just how compliant people were with the new rules and regulations that they were being asked to support.”