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Year in review: What it is like to play behind closed doors

All major leagues across the globe have now taken to playing behind closed doors to entertain the fans as that has become the new normal in the post COVID-19 scenario.

Football

Chennai, January 5: 'Behind closed doors' is a term that has been in the football rule book for several years.

Till the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, this was usually done due to certain rule breaking done by the club or due to the misbehaviour by the fans on rare occasions.

Football matches played in front of empty stands is definitely not something to be excited. Fans' chants, Players' shouts, the thud of boot when a player hits the ball, the sound made by the referee's whistle, none sound quite the same against the backdrop of almost complete silence.

When the games are televised, be it the Premier League, La Liga or the Serie A, it just conveys one message -- football, at any level, is a game that is made to be watched.

A few weeks back, limited number of fans were allowed to watch the games from stadiums in the Premier League but the decision was taken back after a spike in COVID-19 cases that has seen the country impose another lockdown.

Many footballers including Portuguese great Cristiano Ronaldo have spoken out against playing without the fans and how much they miss the noises and chants from the stands.

"For me, I've to be honest, to play in an empty stadium is boring in my opinion. We, the players, respect all the protocol and health is the most important thing of all, of course, but I don't like it, to be honest. I like when people boo Cristiano. I hope in 2021 they can change the rules and we can see the stadiums full of people," Ronaldo said recently.

Cristiano Ronaldo is missing the haters: Pandemic-era football is boring!

Due to the absence of fans, the normal advantage to the home team, playing inside their home stadium in front of their supporters has been neutralized.

All major leagues across the globe have now taken to playing behind closed doors to entertain the fans as that has become the new normal in the post COVID-19 scenario.

Story first published: Tuesday, January 5, 2021, 10:28 [IST]
Other articles published on Jan 5, 2021