All Croatian football matches to be played without fans 

(Photo: HNS)

ZAGREB, 11 March 2020 – The management of the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) has adopted new measures aimed at protecting spectators, clubs, players and competitions on Wednesday.

Taking into account the emerging circumstances regarding the epidemic of the coronavirus, HNS and the relevant bodies have reanalysed the current situation and decided that all matches in competitions under the jurisdiction of the HNS will be played without fans until 31 March, the federation said in a statement today. 

The new measures cover the Croatian first, second and third divisions, as well as the women’s first, and second division, the Croatian first and second futsal divisions, and all youth leagues under the Croatian Football Federation jurisdiction. Also, UEFA qualifying tournaments held in Croatia will be played without fans.

In these competitions, only teams with their management and officials of clubs and HNS, technical staff and a certain number of media representatives will be able to attend the matches until further notice, the statement said. 

HNS also recommends that all county associations take the same measure in competitions under their jurisdiction.

As they have up until now, HNS will closely monitor the development of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus epidemic and, if necessary, determine other measures to which the public will be informed in due time.

The decision shall enter into force immediately and shall be valid until 31 March or the end of the representative break. HNS will make a timely decision to continue or discontinue this measure, taking into account developments, recommendations from public health institutions, and taking into account, first and foremost, the health of spectators, football players and all other players in football, the statement concluded.