Hammer blow to Sheffield Wednesday fans hoping to get back to Hillsborough: Your questions answered

The country is expected to be put under tighter lockdown restrictions as of tomorrow due to a rapid spike in the number of coronavirus cases.

Some new and re-introduced rulings, including the closure of pubs by 10pm and tighter social distancing restrictions, have been released ahead of a public broadcast by the Prime Minister this evening.

But what about football stadiums and where does it leave Sheffield Wednesday? Let’s take a look.

What’s happened?

Speaking to the BBC Breakfast programme, Gove’s bombshell means that long-held plans to have a restricted number of fans into grounds by October 1 will now not go ahead.

A handful of grounds across the EFL held pilot events last weekend. Should Hillsborough have been included in the October 1 plans, we could well have seen a limited number of spectators at the home game against QPR on October 3.

“We do want to, in due course, allow people to return to watch football and other sporting events but it is the case that we just need to be cautious at the moment and I think a mass reopening at this stage wouldn’t be appropriate,” Gove said.

How does this affect the club’s finances?

It’s a blow. It’s no secret that football has been heavily impacted by the pulling of the rug in terms of matchday revenue and it is understood that Sheffield Wednesday are among the clubs historically most reliant on that revenue stream.

Reports have suggested that sporting authorities will be asked to draw up a forecast of the potential financial impact of playing behind closed doors until next year.

Garry Monk has already spoken about the need to be sensible financially and how hard the pandemic has hit the club in terms of changing the landscape of his transfer plans over the past few months.

But Wednesday are no different in that regard, with clubs up and down the country and indeed across sports lodging their concern to the Government.

A letter signed by leaders across a number of sports has urged the Government to come up with a ‘comprehensive support package’ for the sport sector, with authorities warning of a ‘lost generation’ of active youngsters if they fail to act.

Last week Macclesfield Town FC were wound up over an unpaid bills amounting to £500,000.

What about my season ticket?

As you were for now. The club released a comprehensive guide to the protocols for any staged return to football, which can be found on their official website.

For any staged return of supporters there will be a ballot system, but for now, fans hoping to watch Wednesday matches on iFollow are asked to buy match passes at the cost of £10, with home and midweek away matches redeemable against your balance at the end of the season.

Have we got a new date?

In a word, not yet. Gove’s announcement suggests that Boris Johnson will provide a more thorough explanation of their decision this evening.

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