Football's magnetism means doors should stay closed on crowdless matches | Simon Burnton

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Scheduling football before restrictions end would be a nightmare as telling fans not to attend matches will not keep them away

England has hosted only a handful of senior competitive behind-closed-doors football fixtures and anyone who considers them a suitable and workable solution to the problems now facing sport could probably do with a reminder about how the previous ones went down, starting with the first. This, at least, is a chapter of British sporting history that anyone can be forgiven for forgetting, since it took place 105 years ago.

In March 1915 Bradford City, one of two Bradford clubs in the First Division at the time, met Norwich City of the Southern League in the third round of the FA Cup. They first played in Yorkshire, drawing 1-1 after extra time, and when the match was replayed the following weekend at The Nest, then Norwich’s home ground, it finished goalless. A second replay was thus required, and arranged for a neutral venue – Lincoln City volunteered – but with a caveat.

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from Football | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/mar/30/football-magnetism-doors-stay-closed-crowdless-matches-coronavirus

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