La Liga Restart Latest: Number of People Allowed to Attend Fixtures Outlined in New Protocol

Once football in Spain's top flight is able to resume, a protocol prepared by La Liga notes that 197 people will be allowed to attend each game, while spitting and goal celebrations could also be permitted.

While leagues in Europe, such as in France and the Netherlands, have opted to curtail their seasons, there is hope in Spain that they will be able to complete the 2019/20 campaign. Players returned to group training on Monday in what was a major step towards the resumption of the season.

The Guardian now report that La Liga have created a detailed draft, which has been presented to clubs, outlining the measures to be applied. Players and officials will undergo coronavirus tests 24 hours before games are due to be played, while they will also have their temperatures taken on their way into stadiums.

However, while there will be no handshakes before kick-off, spitting and celebrations could be allowed. This is because the Guardian note that in the 34-page document, only one sentence is dedicated to the actual match.

The plan is to commence play once again on 12 June and matches will take place every day until the completion of the campaign on 31 July.

Home team players will be given staggered time-slots for arriving at the stadium, while visitors will arrive later. Visiting players will be asked to sit alone on the team bus and if there are more than 25 athletes, the club will be forced to travel in two buses. Furthermore, visiting teams will only be allowed to use chartered flights or trains for travel. As for accommodation, food must be individually prepared and social distancing will be observed in hotels.

Players and officials will have separate entrances to the stadium, and must arrive wearing face masks and gloves. Dressing rooms will be sealed 24 hours before a game, and only the kitmen can break the seal three hours before kick-off to provide the kit in individual sealed plastic bags. Players will also be required to change at half-time.

This is the first draft and it must still be cleared by the health authorities. Venues would be divided into three zones, with the green and blue zones inside the stadium and the red zone outside. In the green zone, 94 people will be allowed to enter - this includes the players, additional squad members, coaching and medical staff, hospital staff, police and stewards, matchday officials, ballboys, TV production people, VAR operators and groundsmen.

As for the blue zone, 103 people will be allowed to enter, including club officials, security and staff from television companies. Data will also be collected with the hope of providing valuable information should a player contract the virus.