Paris (AFP)
The 2020-2021 season of the Belgian football championship will begin behind closed doors, the board of directors of the Belgian Pro League decided unanimously on Tuesday.
"After consultation with the political world and taking into account the decisions of the National Security Council yesterday, the administrators of the Pro League have taken this decision jointly in order to ensure uniformity in the organization of matches, to give clarity to the public and to society and, above all, to guarantee the health of all in and around the world of football, "writes the Pro League on its official website.
The governing body of pro football in Belgium "also wants to call on all supporters to follow, due to the current circumstances, the matches from the security of their living room, or with their bubble, and especially not to gather. is that by following the measures as strictly as possible that we can ensure the start of the football season, starting with this weekend's final, which everyone is looking forward to.
The Belgian Cup final, which will mark the resumption of Belgian football in a country very worried about a possible second wave of the coronavirus, will oppose FC Bruges and Antwerp on Saturday evening.
Faced with a "worrying" upsurge in coronavirus cases, Belgium announced on Monday a new tightening of measures to counter the pandemic, in particular in the province of Antwerp (north) where a curfew will be put in place.
"Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Pro League has been working in close consultation with the authorities and all the parties concerned in order to face this situation in a safe and responsible manner", adds the press release posted on the website of the Pro League.
In France, the government decided and announced on Tuesday that the start of the French football championship, from the weekend of August 23, would be in stadiums that could not hold more than 5,000 supporters, the same restriction as for the other events to take place in public in the coming weeks.
© 2020 AFP