As the Omicron variant of the coronavirus begins to wreak its havoc across Europe, football is once again falling foul.
Bayern Munich will be forced to play their Champions League tie behind closed doors, whilst Lille have 20 of their staff in self-isolation after an outbreak at the club.
According to Get French Football News, the first-team, thankfully, haven’t been infected.
However, certain departments from within the club have been decimated, which will clearly hit productivity moving forward.
Of a much more serious concern is how virulent this variant of the virus appears to be.
Football as a sport has been so much more enjoyable having crowds back in stadiums, with the atmosphere returning and providing a perfect backdrop to the action on the pitch.
With the Omicron variant takes hold, it’s entirely possible that there will need to be a Europe-wide shutdown again in the interim, with behind closed doors games played when appropriate.
Clearly, that’s far from an ideal situation, but safety of all is paramount.