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Frustrated sports fans are set to miss out after the return of spectators on a pilot basis was scrapped by UK prime minister Boris Johnson.<\/p>\nFrustrated sports fans are set to miss out after the return of spectators on a pilot basis was scrapped by UK prime minister Boris Johnson.<\/p>\n
Snooker\u2019s World Championship, which began in front of a reduced audience on Friday, will resume at an empty Crucible in Sheffield following new restrictions in the wake of a spike in coronavirus cases.<\/p>\n
Thousands of people planning to attend Saturday\u2019s racing at Glorious Goodwood have also been thwarted, while a couple of county cricket matches will take place behind closed doors.<\/p>\n
The new restrictions on fans will be enforced until at least August 15th.<\/p>\n
World Snooker Tour chairman Barry Hearn, who saw defending champion Judd Trump progress from his first-round match on Friday, is ready to enact contingency plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt leaves us on Plan B, we are going to be resilient, we\u2019ll get through as we always will and Plan B is to revert to, from tomorrow, behind closed doors,\u201d Hearn told the BBC.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a chance, I\u2019m ever the optimist, a return for the final, in the meantime, I\u2019m gutted, of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe work the team has done\u2026 an amazing job getting this ready and they must feel terribly deflated. From day one we followed every single safety guideline, we have a new guideline and we follow that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking earlier on Friday, Johnson said: \u201cPilots of crowds at sports events will now not take place.\u201d<\/p>\n
A joint statement from the racecourse, the British Horseracing Authority and the Racecourse Association read: \u201cThe racing on Saturday will continue behind closed doors as it has on the earlier days of the festival.<\/p>\n
Mass gatherings have been banned since March following the onset of the pandemic in the UK.<\/p>\n