When can fans return to Premier League stadiums? - UK government latest advice

The road map for exiting the lockdown was published on Monday afternoon.

Step two, which cannot begin any earlier than June 1, includes "permitting cultural and sporting events to take place behind closed-doors for broadcast, while avoiding the risk of large-scale social contact".

It is less clear when spectators will be able to return to venues.

The document talks about venues such as cinemas and hairdressers reopening in step three - no earlier than July 4 - but states: "Some venues which are, by design, crowded and where it may prove difficult to enact distancing may still not be able to reopen safely at this point, or may be able to open safely only in part."

"In order to facilitate the fastest possible reopening of these types of higher-risk businesses and public places, the government will carefully phase and pilot reopenings to test their ability to adopt the new Covid-19 secure guidelines.

"The government will also monitor carefully the effects of reopening other similar establishments elsewhere in the world, as this happens."

"Only the development of a vaccine or effective drugs can reliably control this epidemic and reduce mortality without some form of social distancing or contact tracing in place."

Events involving international travel - such as football's Champions League and Europa League, could be affected by the Government's planned introduction of an enforced 14-day quarantine period for arrivals to the UK, except for those from countries "on a short list of exemptions".

The Premier League's clubs are meeting on Monday to continue their discussions around Project Restart. They had been planning for a return to action no earlier than the week beginning June 8.

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