Portuguese league goes back behind closed doors

The Portuguese health authorities have decided to put an end to the presence of fans in football stadia due to increasing number of coronavirus cases across the country. Supporters had returned at the beginning of the season.

The director general for Portuguese health, Graca Freitas, justified the measure because the aim now is to "flatten the curve" when it comes to coronavirus cases. 70% of people in Portugal will be in lockdown from this Wednesday including Porto and Lisbon.

Freitas asked fans for their understanding and praised their behaviour during the test games in the top two tiers of the Portuguese league as well as in Portugal and European matches.

She also left open the possibility of spectators returning once the situations improve. Portugal have had 146,847 cases since the start of the pandemic, 61,000 ongoing and 2,590 deaths.