Probe Continues Into Covid Rule Break At Chester FC’s Ground
An investigation is looking into whether an English football club broke Covid rules, because their ground is technically within the Wales border, whereby restrictions mean most matches are being played behind closed doors. However, since rules came into force on December 26th, Chester FC has held two games with each attracting more than 2,000 fans. The Welsh government has said the club is in Wales and must follow the Welsh rules. A spokesperson for the government said “Chester Football Club's stadium is in Wales therefore Welsh regulations apply. As the enforcing authorities Flintshire County Council and North Wales Police are dealing with the matter.”
Club officials say they have been informed of potential breaches of Welsh Coronavirus Regulations for fixtures held on December 28th, 2021 and January 2nd, 2022. In a statement the club said they have been told they “may commit further potential breaches if it continues to play home fixtures with crowds while the current restrictions in Wales remain in place. The statement concluded “It was agreed that all parties would seek further legal advice given the complex issues and future implications of any outcome.”
Chester's Deva Stadium is in Flintshire, with the border between Wales and England running through the car park to the east of the stands. Wales has been in Level Two Coronavirus restrictions since December 26th, which means all sporting events effectively have to be played behind closed doors. The number of spectators is limited to 50, in addition to those taking part. Stewarding and policing costs mean that it can be impractical for clubs to allow a handful of fans through turnstiles.
Chester play in the National League North, in the sixth tier of English football. Although there are certain restrictions in England, there are no crowd limits. Chester FC's home game against AFC Fylde on December 28th was reported to have an attendance of 2,075 and their game against Telford attracting the biggest attendance in the National League North on January 2nd attracting 2,116. Despite the geographic conundrum, matchday policing at the Deva Stadium is carried out by Cheshire Constabulary, with Chester fans arguing on social media that the border runs through the clubhouse and that the stadium has a Chester postcode.
Large crowds that usually attend the festive rugby derbies in Wales were locked out because of the ruling. However, the majority of matches fell victim to Covid, with only the Scarlets versus Ospreys going ahead on New Year's Day. The ruling also affected Wales' top football sides such as Cardiff City, Swansea City, Newport County and Wrexham AFC.
Wales are due to host three games in this year's Six Nations rugby championship - with 72,000 fans expected in Cardiff for the first against Scotland on February 12th. However, the Welsh Rugby Union has said it is exploring the option of moving games over the border to England - where there are no limits on fans. Wales First Minister Mark Drakeford has confirmed there will be no change to the rules for the next week at least.
He said the government would review the situation “every week” to see if it is possible to play games “at home safely”, adding “of course that's what we want to do”. However, he ensured that the public were aware that stadia’s themselves had prepared everything possible for safety “it's not so much what happens in the stadium itself” where the stadium “is properly regulated”. “It's the way people get to the stadium, it's the way they leave the stadium and the way people behave around the stadium, these are risky contexts.” Stadia’s are treated as outdoor venues, despite the concourses where people gather. However, all the pilot studies carried out throughout previous restrictions displayed a minute correlation between attending stadia and positive cases, albeit in controlled conditions in the main.
