Stadiums

LaLiga will use virtual images of stands in television broadcasts with added “fan audio,” produced by the makers of the FIFA video game, when it returns to action on Thursday.

Domestic broadcasters in Spain will offer their viewers the choice of a “natural” broadcast of games played behind closed doors with no fans but the international audience will receive only the enhanced broadcasts with added audio and graphics.

In an act of solidarity that mirrors D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser’s decision to paint “Black Lives Matter” in giant yellow capital letters across several city blocks running towards the White House, D.C. United has voiced its support for protests across America by painting “I CAN’T BREATHE” and “BLM” on its playing surface at Audi Field.  

Runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool should play Everton at Goodison Park in the Merseyside derby instead of the game being switched to a neutral venue as local authorities can now provide a safe environment, Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson said on Sunday.

Liverpool will resume their quest for a first top-flight title in 30 years against Everton on June 21 but the venue for the behind-closed-doors fixture was not confirmed when the league released its revised fixtures for the season's restart.

Tel Aviv's Bloomfield Stadium has installed a special tunnel to spray soccer players arriving for matches with a fine disinfectant mist to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

The pilot of the tunnel, which will run until the end of the season, comes as sports leagues around the globe are preparing to resume play but grappling with how to ensure the health of players and fans. Israel's soccer league has resumed but behind closed doors.

With fans barred from entering stadiums due to the impact of coronavirus, Danish league leaders FC Midtjylland took an imaginative approach to their return to action with a 'drive-in' broadcast for supporters.

The club installed giant screens in the parking lot of their MCH Arena to allow fans to watch matches from the their cars from the more than 2,000 available spaces.

European football will continue its cautious return to play following the COVID-19 stoppage over the next week as a number of the continent's smaller leagues restart with some novelties and one team in serious trouble for breaking coronavirus rules. 

Portugal, Denmark, Poland, Serbia, Austria, Croatia and Ukraine are among countries which will again be able to enjoy league football, albeit in unusual circumstances with no spectators allowed at games. They join Hungary, Czech Republic, Estonia and the Faroe Islands where play has already restarted. 

Bayer Leverkusen thrashed Werder Bremen 4-1 on Monday in a match that showcased exactly why Leverkusen could be playing in the Champions League next season while Werder’s 40-year stay in the top division is almost certainly at an end.

FC Seoul’s 1-0 victory over Gwangju was a steamy and sultry affair at Sangam Stadium on Sunday. With K League matches being played behind closed doors, the 66,000-seat facility was left empty — except for the handful of sex dolls that greeted Han Chan-hee’s winner with expressions of titillated euphoria.

The Bundesliga season restarts on May 16, making it the first major European league to resume amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but the German Football League (DFL) said fans will not be allowed in stadiums. 

Following are the people allowed inside the stadiums as well as the protocols and requirements for Bundesliga clubs to host matches at their stadiums.