Reopening Stadiums Would Avoid Such ‘Chaos’, South End Core Argues Following Street Celebrations In Ħamrun
The South End Core is imploring authorities to allow supporters to return to stadiums after Ħamrun Spartans fans took to the streets to celebrate a win last night, just hours after Malta introduced new coronavirus measures.
The dedicated football fan club had its own say on the chaos that took place and used it as an opportunity to reiterate its proposals from last November to reopen stadiums gradually.
“If we opened stadiums in a reduced way, with protocols for the return of fans, there would have been less thirst and demand for one to celebrate in such a positive way,” it said in a statement.
Ħamrun Spartans fans took to the streets following an inspiring 3-0 win against local footballing giants Valletta FC. Video footage of the evening sparked outrage online, with many condemning fans in the video for breaking coronavirus measures, some of which were introduced just hours before.
@lovinmaltaofficialĦamrun turned into a full-on street party tonight following a 3-0 victory against Valletta 😶⚽️ ##fyp ##fypmalta ##malta ##hamrun ##football ##celebrations♬ original sound – Lovin Malta
“We condemn these actions which happened despite restrictions placed by health authorities,” said the South End Core.
“Had we opened the stadium in a reduced and controlled manner, and followed protocols, the attendees would have definitely been ready to follow the regulations and there wouldn’t be this chaos in the streets with organisation and some control,” it said.
With the race for the Premier League title heating up, and a number of international games scheduled, the fan club is warning that celebrations of a similar size could crop up and the only way to mitigate it is by allowing a select number of fans back into stadiums.
“There needs to be a trial with a specific amount of supporters. We’re proposing that the international match against Russia on the 24th March becomes the pilot run.”
As part of its proposal, the South End Core suggests limiting attendance to 400 people per section of the stadium which would equal 1,600 people in a stadium large with a capacity of 16,000.
“We’ll wait two weeks so that we can study and identify if there are any infections between supporters in the stadium,” it said.
If all goes well, the South End Core believes that the same restrictions can be applied to club stadiums.
“As the South End Core, we’re offering our help to the association and authorities so that we can present, discuss and implement this,” it said.
Last night’s celebrations came just hours after Prime Minister Robert Abela announced new coronavirus restrictions. It is yet to be determined whether any fines were imposed in relation to breaking social distancing measures and mass gatherings.
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