Covid-19 rules good enough to keep stadiums open, says Bristol City chief executive



The majority of Bristol City's players have had a booster, according to Richard Gould.

Richard Gould, chief executive of Bristol City, said that sports stadiums should stay open for fans.

Gould believes the new rules will make stadiums safe.

Fans at any event with a crowd of more than 10,000 must have proof of a negative test.

Gould said that if you went to a football game over the weekend, you would either be double jabbed or have a negative test, so that puts you in a very safe space.

I'm trying to follow the logic of closing down sports stadia because there are lots of other sectors who are operating without Covid certification.

I'm not saying that other people should carry the can, but that we shouldn't.

"Decisions need to be made logically otherwise people will lose confidence in the decision making."

Six of last weekend's premier league matches and 19 of the English football league were called off because of players contracting Covid-19 or being close contacts of those who have.

The number of players who have had two vaccinations has gone up.

The data collected by the EFL in November showed that a majority of the players were double-vaccinated, with 10% having had a single dose at the time.

Under the legal requirements set out by the UK government, unvaccinated players who have a close contact of someone who has tested positive for coronaviruses must self-isolate for 10 days.

The EFL's chief executive said fans could "continue to feel confident in attending matches" because of the rules in place.

In the event that crowds are stopped from going to sports stadia, how long is that going to go on for, what is the plan after that, and is that decision consistent with what's going on in the rest of society? Gould said something.

"We have Covid certification in sports stadia, we are sitting outside, and you just want to be treated fairly across everything else that's going on within the community."