Spanish league: ‘Fans should return after Easter’

Liga president Javier Tebas said on Wednesday he believed some fans could be allowed to return to the stadiums in Spain’s top two divisions in April.

“It’s been a year, we’ve learned a lot, and we hope that by the third week of April we can start to have a percentage back in the stadiums,” Tebas told a press breakfast, adding “if circumstances allow”.

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Spain has suffered more than three million COVID-19 cases and 72,565 deaths but the infection rate has stabilised heading toward Holy Week when Spaniards traditionally take holidays.

Easter Sunday falls on April 4 this year.

“Everyone is cautiously watching Easter, a key moment to see how things are going,” said Tebas, adding that it would provide an indication of whether fans could return.

“We all hope that after Easter we can set a quick date.”

Tebas was echoing a sentiment expressed by Irene Lozano, the Spanish Secretary of State for Sports who said recently: “If we see that a fourth wave has not started, we can begin to raise very important questions for fans, supporters and the clubs themselves.”