No sooner had there been football supporters back inside stadiums than the Government have plunged London into Tier 3 to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
As such, one of the first things to stop will be the welcome sight and sound of supporters getting behind their teams.
Frank Lampard was looking forward to welcoming 2,000 fans to Stamford Bridge for Chelsea’s London derby against David Moyes’ impressive West Ham side, but that’s now gone out of he window.
“We’ve seen already the backing that they give you and what it does for the game,” Lampard was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
“I’m not telling the Government what to do, but I do think we can control 2,000 fans coming in from that tier. It’s unfortunate to say the least.
“Let’s get it right, we are making it up as we go along. That’s not to sound critical, that’s just a fact that we’ve never been in this position before.
“I think clubs have shown they can control it so far so I would like to have thought that there could be something done to make it exempt.”
Lampard’s ire is completely understandable, and for a derby at home some atmosphere wouldn’t have gone amiss.
Indeed, it could well have handed the west Londoners a small advantage in the game.
Now, once again, clubs will have to get used to the sound of silence and await any further updates from the Government in due course.
It would seem sensible to keep everyone away until such time as there is concrete proof that the spread of the virus has been completely slowed down.