England manager, Gareth Southgate says there is nothing to celebrate in football with the games being played behind closed doors, even as he threw his weight behind those clamoring for the return of fans to the stadium. “Without the fans, we don’t have a game really,” were Southgate’s words after the UEFA Nations League 2-1 victory over Belgium at Wembley. England who were involved in a back to back home games in the UEFA Nations League series fell 0-1 to Denmark Wednesday night in a game they finished with 10 men, no thanks to skipper Harry Maguire bagging a red. He stressed that it was sad to see England’s debutants wear the national team jersey for the first time in an empty stadium. “I think the other night was a classic example of why we miss it so much.
To have so many lads making their England debuts and some of them scoring their first goals, playing at Wembley in front of nobody is such a shame for them, not being able to share those moments. “They’re moments that live with you forever. We know what it would mean for the game. We know that we don’t have a game without fans really – that interaction, the atmosphere. The level of performance goes even higher when fans are in the stadium.
We’re all hoping that can happen as quickly as possible.” Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin said to score on his debut against Wales was “the stuff of dreams” but “it’s a shame there were no fans and my family couldn’t be here.” Kieran Trippier, who captained England in the game against Belgium wrote on Instagram: “Not the same without the fans, but there’s still no bigger honour for me than to pull on the England jersey.” Arsenal legend, Ian Wright has on his part launched a social media campaign on the need to get the fans back. His appeal has received more than 20,000 likes on social media. It is estimated that the London economy has taken a hit of up to £1 billion through the loss of match-day spending
