Fans to return gradually in EPL

Liverpool, Brighton, Chelsea and West Ham can allow fans into their stadiums for their first Premier League matches in December under the UK government’s new tier system in England to tackle the spread of coronavirus.

Arsenal will also be the first Premier League club to welcome fans in for a competitive fixture since March after confirming that 2,000 spectators will be allowed in for their Europa League match against Rapid Vienna next Friday.

The Gunners learned yesterday that the Emirates Stadium is in tier two of the Government’s new regionalised approach to tackling the coronavirus pandemic, and will therefore be able to welcome fans in for the clash with the Austrian side.

West Ham’s match against Manchester United on December 5 is set to be the first Premier League game with fans in attendance.

Liverpool, Brighton and Chelsea are also within tier-two areas, meaning they too can welcome back up to 2,000 fans. Brighton will host Southampton, Chelsea are at home to Leeds and champions Liverpool take on Wolves at Anfield.

Those would be the first top-flightmatches to be attended by fans since the Covid-19 outbreak took hold in March.

But Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa, whose side are based in a tier-three area where fans remain banned from venues, believes it is unfair to allow fans to return on a partial basis.

‘‘It shouldn’t be about the category, or the consequences of being in a category, it should be about trying to maintain the competition as equal as possible with things that are controllable,’’ Bielsa said.

The Rugby Football Union has also announced it will be allowing 2,000 spectators into Twickenham for England’s final Autumn Nations Cup rugby international on December 6, with 400 of those tickets going to local NHS workers.

The UK government had previously been set to allow supporters into sports venues from October 1, but scrapped the plans after a rise in coronavirus infection rates nationwide.