Crowds ruled out in Wales

DERBY County may have to play their rearranged Championship fixture against Cardiff City behind closed doors after new coronavirus restrictions were introduced in Wales.

The Rams were due to visit the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday but the match was postponed due to Covid outbreaks within their squads.

A new date is yet to be set for the game but Derby supporters might not be allowed in to watch after the Welsh government announced that all sporting events in the country will be held behind closed doors from Boxing Day until further notice due to the surge in coronavirus cases.

Economy Minister Vaughan Gething announced the new measures for indoor and outdoor sporting events in a bid to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.

“Sporting events over the Christmas period are one of the big highlights of the year. Unfortunately, the new Omicron variant is a significant development in the pandemic and could cause a large number of infections,” said Gething.

“We need to do everything we can to protect people’s health and control the spread of this awful virus.

“Throughout the pandemic we have followed scientific and public health advice to keep people safe.

“The advice is clear – we need to act now in response to the threat of Omicron. We are giving people as much notice of these decisions as we can.

“Crowds will come back as soon as possible. We want everyone to be here to enjoy their favourite sports.”

Cardiff’s Championship clash at home to Coventry City on Boxing Day has already been postponed due to the coronavirus cases in the Bluebirds’ camp.

The first EFL fixture due to be affected is Swansea City’s Championship match against Luton Town, which is currently scheduled for December 29.

It is unclear how long these new restrictions will remain in place.