Premier League: fans need vaccine passports to enter stadium as coronavirus Omicron variant sweeps across Britain

Premier League fans will be subject to vaccine passport checks to enter stadiums from Wednesday, but fears are rising over how long the English top flight can continue in front of capacity crowds as the Omicron variant sweeps across Britain.

Tottenham’s trip to Brighton and Manchester United’s visit to Brentford have been postponed because of outbreaks in the Spurs and United camps in recent days. Aston Villa, Leicester and Norwich have also reported positives as part of a record 42 cases of Covid-19 among Premier League players and staff in the past week.

That figure is the highest since testing began in May 2020 when top-flight football in England returned after a three-month delay caused by the pandemic. For more than a year the action continued on the field in front of empty stands until a loosening of restrictions allowed the Premier League to return to capacity crowds in August.

There were no restrictions for supporters at most stadiums, although Brighton, Chelsea and Tottenham did introduce the mandatory checks for vaccination or proof of a negative test that will now be deployed across England for crowds in excess of 10,000.

The spectre of Covid loomed in the background even as tens of thousands of unmasked fans mixed in close quarters to watch Steven Gerrard’s return to Liverpool as Aston Villa manager on Saturday. A pop-up testing centre offered free lateral flow tests to the passing crowds.

Newly deployed “Covid stewards” were positioned around Anfield to offer advice on how to download vaccination status onto a smartphone in preparation for Thursday’s first match under the new rules against Newcastle.