No Elland Road return yet for Leeds United fans as city gets Tier 3 status but could play in front of Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge

Fans will continue to be banned from Elland Road under the COVID-19 restrictions applied to cities and regions in Tier 3.

But London is in Tier 2, which opens up the possibility of Chelsea supporters being permitted to watch the game at Stamford Bridge. Up to 2,000 could enter the ground for the game, giving Leeds their first live audience since March.

Health secretary Matt Hancock announced the tier system, which comes into place on December 2, this morning.

If the area is in Tier 1, 4,000 spectators are allowed to attend, and if in Tier 2 it is a maximum of 2,000 fans.

Chelsea released a statement on Tuesday supporting the decision.

"Chelsea Football Club welcomes yesterday’s announcement by the Prime Minister and the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on a return of supporters to elite sports events from December 2," said a spokesperson.

"While the current guidelines mean that we will not yet be able to return to full capacity at Stamford Bridge, the club continues to work on plans to accommodate as many fans as possible, as fairly as possible, and we appreciate supporter patience as we do so."

Leeds CEO Angus Kinnear last week expressed his hope that Elland Road would see a return of fans this season.

Writing in his programme notes for the Arsenal game he said: "The positive news this week regarding the efficacy of two of the Covid vaccine front-runners gives us renewed confidence in a phased return of crowds taking place later this season.

"The goverrnment have made a commitment that when the current set of lockdown measures are relaxed, sport will be at the front of the queue of the sectors that are addressed.

"We accept that the current macro-economic environment makes a return to crowds challenging, but as this improves we expect the government to fairly and scientifically assess the proposals that demonstrate properly managed outdoor football stadia can actually be one of the safest environments for people to return to."