Luton's trip to Swansea to be played behind closed doors as Welsh Government announce new Omicron restrictions

Swansea will have to play games without fans until further notice

Luton's trip to Swansea City next week will be played behind closed doors after the Welsh Government announced that sports events will have to take place without crowds due to the current surge of Omicron in the UK.

The Hatters are due to head to the Swansea.com Stadium on Wednesday, December 29 for a 7.45pm kick-off after the EFL (English Football League) confirmed yesterday that the festive schedule will remain in place despite the rise in cases.

However, this morning it was confirmed that restrictions affecting all levels of sport in Wales will begin on December 26 with no end date officially set.

A statement on the Swans official website said: "Swansea City will return to playing fixtures behind closed doors at the Swansea.com Stadium in a move enforced by the Welsh Government.

"An announcement was made tonight by Welsh Government following the surge of Omicron in the UK, with Swansea City among the Welsh clubs once again made to play matches without crowds, with the decision in place from Boxing Day.

"The Swans’ next game scheduled at the Swansea.com Stadium is against Luton Town on Wednesday, December 29.

"We will issue a club statement to inform supporters of the next steps as soon as we obtain further information."

Meanwhile, when announcing the new restrictions, Welsh economy minister Vaughan Gething said: "Sporting events over the Christmas period are one of the big highlights of the year.

"Unfortunately, the new omicron variant is a significant development in the pandemic and could cause a large number of infections.

"We need to do everything we can to protect people's health and control the spread of this awful virus.

"Throughout the pandemic we have followed scientific and public health advice to keep people safe.

"The advice is clear - we need to act now in response to the threat of Omicron.

"We are giving people as much notice of these decisions as we can.

"Crowds will come back as soon as possible. We want everyone to be here to enjoy their favourite sports."

This will be the third time Town have travelled to Swansea and played in front of an empty stadium, as James Collins scored the only goal in a 1-0 win back in June 2020, while the Hatters went down to a 2-0 defeat last season.