Hull and Morecambe join Luton in pulling out of test events

Hull City and Morecambe have joined Luton Town in pulling out of the pilot events to let supporters attend their matches at the weekend.

The EFL announced 10 games on Wednesday afternoon that could allow crowds back in for the first time since February, including Luton’s home match with Derby County, Hull's League One clash against Crewe Alexandra and Morecambe's League Two contest with Cambridge United.

However, Town chief executive Gary Sweet had already confirmed the club wouldn’t be taking part due to a lack of preparation time, with the Tigers and Shrimps now following suit.

A statement on the Hull website said: “We regret to announce that the proposed pilot event at the KCOM Stadium this coming Saturday will not take place with fans in attendance.

“The original guidance was that up to 1,000 supporters would be able to attend Hull City’s home game against Crewe Alexandra, in fact, to manage risk, our intended number of invited fans was proposed to be around 600.

“Whilst the Club’s request to host a pilot event had been authorised by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and the Sports Grounds Safety Authority, final approval was required from Hull City Council and the local Safety Advisory Group.

“Unfortunately, due to the rising infection rate in Hull over the last two weeks, we have been unable to receive approval from Hull City Council Public Health.

“Naturally, whilst we are extremely disappointed that we will not be able to welcome supporters into the KCOM Stadium this Saturday, we will continue to work closely with all of the relevant bodies in a bid to welcome supporters back to the KCOM Stadium as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, Morecambe also released a statement on their website, with co-owner Colin Goldring saying: “We have thought about this carefully after being considered by the league for a trial this weekend but unfortunately we are not in a position to complete the regulatory work and get this signed off in time for this weekend’s game.

"Our staff have been working diligently for many weeks on the protocols required by the various authorities and we are almost ready for the signing off stage.

"We are confident that these issues will be resolved so that we can welcome our valued supporters back into the Mazuma Stadium early in October.

“We are sorry to disappoint supporters who may have raised hopes of attending Saturday's match, but we have to be mindful of everyone’s safety during this pandemic and abide by the various licencing protocols."

The seven games that will now be used as test events are:

Championship

Norwich City v Preston North End.

Middlesbrough v AFC Bournemouth.

League One

Charlton Athletic v Doncaster Rovers.

Blackpool v Swindon Town.

Shrewsbury Town v Northampton Town.

League Two

Forest Green Rovers v Bradford City.

Carlisle United v Southend United.