West Ham chief Karren Brady says football stadiums are 'safer than your living room' in call for return of fans
West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady has insisted Premier League football stadiums are "safe than your living room".
Brady is keen for fans to return to top-tier grounds as soon as possible and, writing in The Sun, joined calls for the partial opening of grounds across the country from October 1.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the latest guidance on social gatherings in England last week following a spike in novel coronavirus infections, saying that groups of more than six people would be banned from meeting.
However, the EFL said on Wednesday select clubs will be allowed to admit a restricted number of fans at this weekend's games as part of a pilot scheme.
Up to 1,000 fans are due to watch Middlesbrough's Sky Bet Championship clash with Bournemouth on Saturday. The eight matches selected also included games in third-tier League One and fourth-tier League Two, but Premier League matches remain behind closed doors.
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder was among those to criticise the pilot scheme amid rising cases of coronavirus in the UK, but Brady says the guidelines in place mean stadiums are among the safest places to be.
"It is becoming increasingly difficult to see what the delay in bringing back spectators to football is all about — except optics," Brady wrote in The Sun.
"At a time when the Government is promoting the “Rule of Six” and the country is subject to various local lockdowns, people will be scratching their heads, asking: 'How can I not be allowed to meet with more than five other people I know but can go to a football match with thousands of people I don’t know?'
"I can see what a difficult and conflicting message that might send out, which the Government might like to avoid.
"Except that a Premier League football stadium is the safest place you can be. Safer than your own living room.
"Our highly supervised environment means supporters are safer in there than if they were mixing informally in their own homes.
"Yes, of course there are sound reasons why numbers have to be phased in, like the access to public transport (despite the fact that millions of people are being urged to go back to work).
"Then there is the congregation of supporters before and after the games.
"But we are not talking about late-night ravers here, we are talking about sensible football supporters who can to go to an activity in a safe way."
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