Cliftonville’s Chief Operating Officer David Begley says allowing a limited number of fans into stadiums has only served to increase costs for Premiership clubs.
The North Belfast Reds allowed a small number of supporters into recent County Antrim Shield games against Knockbreda and Dundela, with the club currently operating at around 15% of their stadium capacity.
On Saturday they kick-off the new Danske Bank Premiership season at home to Glentoran.
Cliftonville have introduced several measures to ensure safety regulations are adhered to within Solitude, including the installation of sanitisation stations and temperature check controls outside the stadium.
Fans lucky enough to get hold of a ticket must also follow a one-way system within the ground and are only allowed to sit in allocated seats.
However, Cliftonville director Begley says operating at a reduced capacity simply means more staff are needed to ensure the safety of less fans, worsening the financial burden on the club.
‘We now have to have a lot more stewarding going on in the ground to ensure social distancing and people sitting in the correct seats, something which we didn’t have to have before," he said.
"Now we have to bring in more staff for less fans."
Begley also says the local game is not financially sustainable in the long term without either a return to full capacity matches or financial aid from the Northern Ireland Executive.
"It’s only until we get a return to full capacities that things become sustainable,"he said.
"Unless we have, and we urgently need, government assistance with finance."
