Premier League matches without fans in attendance look like blueprint copies of each other and resemble training sessions, Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic told Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti yesterday.
No supporters were allowed to watch games when the league resumed in June following the shutdown in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Up to 2,000 fans were permitted to attend matches this month in some areas of the country, but a resurgence in Covid-19 cases means Liverpool and Everton are the only Premier League clubs who will be allowed to welcome fans from today.
“It’s come down to having games which all look like carbon copies of each other resembling training sessions with no fans in the stadiums,” Matic said. “The coronavirus pandemic has made the circumstances much different and I am sure that Liverpool would never have lost to Aston Villa 7-2 if fans had been present. Football has survived, the league is in motion but I sorely miss the noise and the reaction from the terraces.”
Serbian Matic said winning the league title with United would be a dream come true after lifting the trophy twice with Chelsea in 2015 and 2017. “It would certainly amount to making another dream a reality after winning two titles at Chelsea,” he said.
“If we enjoyed a slice of good fortune and clinched the Premier League title, it’d be on par with what I accomplished at Chelsea. I am in good shape and hope to carry on playing at the top level for another four or five years.”
United, who have not won the Premier League since 2013 in Alex Ferguson’s last season in charge, are third in the standings with 26 points from 13 games, five behind leaders Liverpool with a game in hand.
United visit second-placed Leicester City on Boxing Day, with the Foxes a point ahead of them having played a game more.

Shirokov sentenced to community service after assault on referee
A Moscow court yesterday sentenced Roman Shirokov, the former captain of the Russian men’s national soccer team, to 100 hours of community service over an assault on a referee, the Interfax news agency reported.
The 39-year-old, who was taking part in an amateur tournament in August, was angry when referee Nikita Danchenko refused to award him a penalty after he was challenged in the area, footage from the incident showed.
Danchenko sent Shirokov off, prompting the midfielder to punch and kick the official. Shirokov, who played most of his career at Zenit St Petersburg and earned 57 caps for the national team, apologised to Danchenko after the incident.
“I am well aware that not being assigned a penalty kick and then being shown a red card cannot be a reason to raise my fists,” Shirokov, who retired in 2016, wrote on Instagram. 
Shirokov is not the only Russian professional football player to have had run-ins with the law in recent years.
Alexander Kokorin and Pavel Mamayev were jailed last year for their involvement in an assault on two civil servants, including a trade ministry official, and an altercation with the driver of a television presenter.

Covid forces FIFA 
to postpone U-20, U-17 World Cups
FIFA has postponed next year’s U-20 World Cup in Indonesia and U-17 tournament in Peru until 2023 due to coronavirus. “The Covid-19 pandemic continues to present challenges for the hosting of international sporting events and to have a restrictive effect on international travel, explained football’s governing body in a statement on its website.
“The global situation has failed to normalise to a sufficient level to address the challenges associated with hosting both tournaments, including the feasibility of the relevant qualification pathways.”
It added that FIFA looked forward to working with both host countries “to organise successful tournaments” in 2023. 
The two events follow other international football competitions to fall victim to the virus, with Euro 2020 held over until next June, the Copa America moved to the same date, and the Africa Cup of Nations, held over until January 2022.
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