Football cancelled - counter productive?

[AdoptedBumpkin]

My neighbour said that it's a bad idea for football matches to be cancelled, as the fans will just spend longer in the pub and will be more likely to be in physical contact than in the stadiums. Does he have a point?

I don't think the fans would all be in the pub when there's no sport to watch.

No. It's a great idea to cancel the football. Large numbers together in a small space is a recipe for the breeding of visuses.

And if the football was still going on, you'd get MORE people in pubs.

Have you never seen the pubs crowded because the football is on?

Is your "neighbour" unaware that people go to the pub to watch football?

He's misquoting commentators, who pointed out that if matches were held with no spectators, then people would crowd into sports pubs and clubs.

With not footie tomwatch, people may well fan out into other activities. Some (but by no means all) of them might include indoor proximity with other people.

www.smithsonianmag.com/history/philadelphia-threw-wwi-parade-gave-thousands-onlookers-flu-180970372/

OP, your "neighbour" is an idiot.

That's a good point. I suppose he's thinking that those who would be attending will just get drunk instead of doing it either side of the match.

However, as you say, no Premiership (or Six Nations) on probably equals less people in pubs.

There were mumblings about broadcasters being forced to withdraw pub's broadcasting rights/transmissions, which I'd be in favour of.

I'm not a football fan, so I can't claim to have much context, but I'm in favour of these cancellations. The idea of thousands of fans congregating in close proximity, fans flying in from abroad (from Madrid for that Liverpool match, for example...), using local shared transport and facilities etc - it is nonsensical in the midst of an epidemic.

I'm inclined to agree, was just trying to work out his logic. Letting the Madrid fans in was illogical.