Chelsea manager Frank Lampard feels that fans should be allowed to continue going to stadiums in areas that have Tier 3 restrictions. London is to move into the highest tier of Government restrictions at 00.01 on Wednesday, along with parts of Essex and Hertfordshire, meaning that the Blues’ game against West Ham United will be behind closed doors, as will Arsenal and Fulham’s games against Southampton and Brighton & Hove Albion respectively.
Frank Lampard Wants Fans in Grounds in Tier 3 Areas
Clubs Have Worked Hard on Precautions
Clubs in London will have only welcomed fans back for one or two games before the decision was made to put the city into Tier 3 restrictions. They will have worked hard to ensure the grounds were made as safe as possible for spectators, and Lampard expressed his frustration at that effort going to waste as well as the disadvantage the tier system puts some teams in.
He told reporters: “I’m slightly disappointed. “Even though we’ve been in tier 2 and had fans in for a couple of games, I did feel that it should have been a level playing field with fans if some clubs can have them and some can’t.
“We’ve seen already and felt it, the backing that they give you and what it does to the game and I think that should be pretty level. I also think we can control 2,000 fans coming into a stadium if they are coming from within a tier or whatever to keep things moving along. So it’s unfortunate to say the least.
“Let’s get it right, we are making it up as we go along because we’ve never been in this position before. And I think when you are talking about if clubs can control the situation, then I think that they’ve shown so far that they can. I would like to have thought that something could be done to make it exempt where we can get that 2,000 number in. But that goes above my station, I’m just saying what I think.”
Next Up for Frank Lampard
London entering Tier 3 means only Liverpool, Everton, Southampton and Brighton can admit fans (with Leeds United possibly joining them), thus there would have been no crowd at Chelsea’s next game against Wolverhampton Wanderers regardless.
The Blues will be looking to bounce back from the 1-0 defeat they suffered to Everton at the weekend, while Wolves will be looking to end a run that has seen them take just four points from their last available 15.
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