London moves into tier 3, Arsenal, Fulham and others to play behind closed door

Clubs based in London in the Premier League would no longer have fans in the stadium from Wednesday December 16 after London was placed in the toughest tier of COVID-19 restrictions following a sharp rise in coronavirus infection rates.

Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham and other London clubs  were among the 10 Premier League clubs who were allowed to welcome back 2,000 fans earlier this month when London was initially classified as falling into Tier 2 or high alert regions when a month-long national lockdown was lifted.

But the British government said on Monday that London was moved to Tier 3, citing an exponential rise in infection rates as one of the world’s richest cities struggles to contain the disease.

Fulham’s home game against Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday has been pushed behind closed doors, while West Ham United too will host Crystal Palace without spectators on the same day. Arsenal’s game against Southampton will also be without fans.