Premier League in another Covid fight with angry clubs demanding to know who’ll refund tickets after latest restrictions

PREM clubs are involved in another ruck with League chiefs over who refunds fans who miss games because of the latest Covid restrictions.

PM Boris Johnson confirmed the introduction of the Government’s Plan B against the Omicron variant in Downing Street.

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That will see “vaccine passports” introduced for entry to all sporting events with crowds of more than 10,000 from Wednesday.

Initially, fans will have to show they are double vaccinated or proof of a negative test within 24 hours of a game to be allowed entry.

It is not clear if that means every fan being checked or a continuation of spot tests, with the Government weighing up whether it should delegate decisions to local Safety Advisory Groups to make a final call.

But a number of Prem clubs fear that fans may want rebates on their match or season tickets if they feel the restrictions are too onerous.

That might become even more pressing if, as the PM hinted on Wednesday, the Government does move to a policy of mandatory vaccinations.

And the clubs are urging Prem chiefs to stump up the money rather than seeing their funds take another Covid hit.

That argument is being resisted by the League, which points out that it has never previously been involved in ticketing issues – which have always been the remit of individual clubs.

League bosses believe they are not responsible for a situation that has been decided by the Government and that any financial disputes between clubs and fans should be settled between themselves.

One source said: “The League has never told clubs how to do their ticketing, it has always been their business. 

“Nobody at the Premier League is bringing in vaccine passports and nor would the League be imposing any mandatory requirements.

“What has been the case is that the League has been working with clubs for months to make sure everybody is prepared to take the action needed if the vaccine passports were required.”

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