Arsene Wenger warns holding matches without fans in long-term would 'damage' football

Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has warned that holding matches without fans could “damage” football in the long run.

Football returned in one of Europe’s major leagues for the first time since the coronavirus shutdown began this weekend as a full round of Bundesliga fixtures was played in Germany without supporters in attendance.

Plans are in place for the Premier League, Serie A and LaLiga to follow suit, but some leagues, including those in France and The Netherlands, have already called a premature end to the season.

There are also huge doubts over whether the medical situation will have improved sufficiently to allow fans back into grounds for the start of next season. Wenger, who now works as Fifa’s head of global development, said playing games behind closed doors was the best option for finishing the current camapign, but insisted the provision can only be a “short-term solution”.

“Does it in the longer term survive? Will it damage the show in the longer term without supporters? I’m convinced of that,” he told BeIN Sport.

“It can be a short-term solution, not a long-term solution – you cannot imagine an entire season played without supporters.

“But it’s still the best possible way to have averted the end of the season, it’s better than any other decision.”

Despite the remarks, the Frenchman urged caution with regards to returning to normal, citing examples in Italy such as March’s Champions League tie between Atalanta and Valencia, which has been blamed for accelerating the spread of the virus.

“Let’s not forget that we have some examples in Italy where some game provoked a disaster,” he added.

“We have to not be guided too much by financial reasons to take such a big gamble. We have to make sure that medically it is safe.”