Portsmouth fans blow as government won’t put timescale on supporters' return

But at a debate attended by ministers at Westminster on Monday, Huddleston laid out no timeline for pilot events to resume or a date for a lifting of restrictions.

The Blues were set to host a test event of 1,000 fans for their Fratton Park game against Wigan on September 26 – the first time spectators would have been back since Fleetwood’s visit back in March – but it was halted at the last minute due to newly enforced guidelines.

Now pressure is increasing on the government to allow supporters to return to football stadiums after current coronavirus lockdown restrictions are lifted on December 2.

SEE ALSO: More than 12,700 Pompey season-ticket holders have signed up for the club’s flexi-season ticket scheme

Ministers debated the issue of supporters returning to grounds at all levels – after a petition backed by the Premier League and Football League garnered nearly 200,000 signatures.

Jonathan Gullis, the Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, called the debate and stated: ‘As of December 2 I will be expecting to see an announcement that fans are coming back into football stadiums.’

Huddleston replied that the government are working ‘tirelessly’ to try to achieve that but while conceding that transmission rates were low inside grounds due to them being open air, he said there remained issues around fans arriving at and gathering around stadia.

‘I am fully aware of the importance of getting fans back in stadia, not just for football but for all elite sports,’ said Huddleston.

‘The point made by several members today that a one-size-fits-all approach may not be appropriate, and we are paying attention to what is happening in other countries.

‘The government does understand the financial implications of not allowing fans back into stadia from October 1 and we have worked tirelessly to get sports back up and running over the past few months, albeit behind closed doors.

‘Pilots were pivotal and have been very successful, they have been excellent learning points and learning opportunities. And that work has not been wasted as it is helping inform the decision making process and we want to get pilots back and get fans back in stadia as soon as possible.

‘We have had a plan from very, very early on in the first lockdown and it has been explicitly stated and is out there, but what we have had to do on a couple of occasions, unfortunately, is press the pause button. But we want to get back to the plan as quickly as we can.

‘A big challenge we are facing, however, is how spectators travel to and from venues and how that might impact on transmission rates.

‘But we are committed to getting spectators back as soon as possible and we are working with the STIG (Sports Technology Innovation Group) group to analyse new technologies which might support the return of spectators.’

In August, Blues chief executive Mark Catlin told The News that Pompey are losing £700,000 a month as fans are forced to stay away on match days.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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