Welsh Government orders Swansea v Luton behind closed doors due to Covid

Swansea City’s stadium
Swansea City’s stadium. Photo by Christopher Elkins (cc-by-2.0)

Luton’s Championship fixture at Swansea will be played behind closed doors after the Welsh Government ruled that sporting matches will see a return to Covid-19 restrictions to help control the spread of the new Omicron variant. 

The Hatters travel to the Swansea.com Stadium on December 29th, but fans will be unable to cheer on their heroes, as all games from Boxing Day onwards have now been ordered to be played inside empty stadia. 

In a statement, Swans from chief executive, Julian Winter, said: ‘As announced at midnight by the Welsh Government, we will be returning to playing home fixtures behind closed doors.

‘The Welsh Government confirmed in a statement that all sporting events will be played behind closed doors from Boxing Day in Wales to help control the spread of the new omicron variant.

‘Further to this announcement, the club is devastated that supporters will not be able to attend home fixtures at the Swansea.com Stadium. However, we must support the rules of the Welsh Government.

‘As our supporters are aware, the last two seasons have proven to be very difficult on a financial level. This new ruling comes at a particularly difficult time as our Christmas fixtures are usually extremely busy.

The measures being enforced mean our games against Luton Town (December 29) and Fulham (January 3) will be played without fans. With the Boxing Day games involving Cardiff City and Newport County – both were due to be at home – already cancelled due to Covid, it means Swansea City is the only professional Welsh football club immediately affected by the ruling.’

The fixture will be available for live streaming on the Hatters’ iFollow channel at a price of £10.