AP Interview: Full English stadiums 'difficult' for a year

LONDON (AP) — The pandemic will make it “very difficult” for Premier League matches to be staged with full crowds for at least another year and capacities face being capped at 25% when stadiums eventually re-open, a leading government adviser told The Associated Press.

In his first interview as chair of the British government committee on the return of elite sports, James Calder cautioned against a hasty, widescale re-opening and return to normality as the coronavirus threat persists without a vaccine.

Calder, a surgeon renowned for operating on sports stars, played an integral role in helping the Premier League return in June after a 100-day shutdown, with supporters excluded from stadiums and twice weekly coronavirus testing on players and coaches.

The season ends on Sunday and Calder urged players to avoid going on holiday to COVID-19 hotspots, singling out the dangers in the United States. But he is hopeful testing on players can be reduced next season.

The new season begins on Sept. 12 after other sports events — starting with cricket this Sunday — are used to pilot how spectators can safely return to venues for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak in Britain in March.

Calder also sits on the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee that determined last week there can be a re-opening of stadiums to fans from October if there isn’t a new significant spike in COVID-19 cases.

But stadiums will be far from full for a long time.

“Whilst we’ve got a virus around without a vaccine, I think it’s going be very, very difficult to do. I really can’t see that happening in the next year,” Calder said. “If there’s a vaccine that comes out, that’s been proven to be effective or ... if the virus mutates and that isn’t as...