Culture secretary to be grilled over return of fans to sports venues

An empty Stadium of Light on Tuesday evening.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden is set to be asked about the return of spectators to sports venues when he appears before MPs next week, the PA news agency understands.

Dowden is set to face questions from MPs on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee on October 14 about the continued impact of coronavirus on sport and the arts.

The Government scrapped plans for spectators to come back on a socially-distanced basis from October 1 due to a rise in the number of new coronavirus cases nationally, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying at the time that the restrictions could stay in place for six months.

That decision has been heavily criticised by clubs and governing bodies, with many pointing to the inconsistency of continuing to allow people to gather in unregulated spaces like pubs and shopping centres but not permitting entry to sports venues.

The Premier League, EFL and the Football Association joined forces earlier this week to call on Government to provide some “clarity” and a petition calling for the return of fans has comfortably passed the 100,000 signatures threshold to trigger a debate in parliament.

The block on fans returning has heightened the financial pressure on sports clubs and governing bodies, many of whom are heavily reliant on revenue generated by match-going spectators.

The EFL has been especially hard hit, but the Government has called on the Premier League to come up with a rescue package to help clubs at that level avoid going out of business.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters told The Times on Thursday: “There’s a frustration that there is that inconsistency and we would urge the Government to treat sport in the same way as the entertainment industry.

“The clubs feel they have been hit with a quadruple whammy — firstly that the optimism of October 1 has been taken away; secondly that there will be a sports bailout but that it wouldn’t include football; thirdly that the Premier League will be expected to secure the future of the EFL while dealing with the implications of having no fans until possibly March; finally the opening up of entertainment arenas within sometimes a couple of miles of football grounds without any road map for the return of football supporters.”