The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, said that football matches and other sports events in Spain will take place in empty venues at least until the end of the summer because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“In the spring and summer there will not be any events with crowds in Spain, and possibly not in the fall either. Because obviously the situation will not be fully under control. We will have to change our habits and behaviors even after being allowed to go back on to the streets”, Martínez-Almeida said on Saturday.
“Football matches without fans in the summer is a possibility, as long as health and safety conditions are observed”, he added.
The Spanish league is not expected to resume at least until the end of May. The football federation said that, if the league cannot resume, the current top four clubs – Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla and Real Sociedad – will play in the Champions League.
The total losses for not finishing the season could reach nearly €1 billion, the league said. The losses if the league resumes with matches in empty stadiums would be about €300 million, and if it restarts with fans it would be around €150 million.
