[Sport] Liverpool and Everton banned from having fans at games after new tiers announced across UK

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Liverpool and Everton banned from having fans at games after new tiers announced across UK
Decision to place the entire country under tier 3 restrictions at the very least will prevent the two Merseyside clubs from having fans at home matches for the foreseeable future

Fans will be locked out of sporting events nationwide once against after the government tightened coronavirus restrictions in an effort to halt the sharp increase in cases.

From Thursday morning, all areas of the UK will be placed in at least tier 3 with the exception of the Isles of Scilly, meaning that sporting venues will have to close their doors to the public regardless of whether they are outdoors or not.

It means the only two Premier League clubs that were still able to have supporters at home matches in the form of Liverpool and Everton will have to close their stadiums once again, just a month after they were allowed to reopen.

An Everton club statement read: “We can confirm that, following the government’s announcement the Liverpool City Region is moving into tier 3 of the national Covid-19 restrictions from midnight tonight, we won't be able to welcome fans to Goodison Park until further notice, including Friday's game with West Ham.”

Liverpool followed their Merseyside rivals in confirming that restrictions will prevent fans from attending Anfield. “We will move back to playing games behind closed doors following the government's announcement that the Liverpool City Region has been placed in Tier 3 restrictions,” the club said.

Health secretary Matt Hancock announced in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon that both Liverpool and North Yorkshire will be moved to tier 3, with the remaining parts of the south-east, large parts of the Midlands, the north-east and south-west of England placed in the stricter tier 4 measures.