Barnsley, Bradford City, Harrogate Town, Huddersfield Town and Rotherham United could have midweek games moved to allow fans if new rules allow

On Monday it was announced that as part of the Government's post-lockdown plans, small numbers of football supporters will be allowed back into some grounds from December 2. Clubs will only find out on Thursday if they can benefit.

The new rules, which are subject to a vote in Parliament will see a maximum of 4,000 fans allowed into grounds situated in the new post-lockdown tier one areas, or 50 per cent of capacity, whichever is the lower figure.

For grounds in tier two areas, the limit will be 2,000 or 50 per cent, but matches in tier three zones will continue to be played behind closed doors.

Barnsley are due at Birmingham City and Huddersfield are at Cardiff City the day before the lockdown is lifted, but Football League chairman Rick Parry has suggested these games could now be put back to the Wednesday – although Barnsley's home game on the Friday would add to the logistical problems were Birmingham to avoid tier three. Bradford, Harrogate and Rotherham all have home league games on December 1.

It would be a surprise if any of the Yorkshire clubs – even those due to play away – find themselves outside of tier three on December 2, with areas that were not in it before the second lockdown expected to be added.

"We need the detail," said Parry. "Clearly we have a number of games taking place on December 1, in theory we will be as flexible as we can if they can be moved to December 2. But we don't know which clubs will be in which tier yet.

"We won't know that until Thursday. We will need permissions from the safety advisory groups, we need to know this is done properly so it's one step at a time."

The quick turnaround will cause logistical problems for those affected, and Parry therefore expects even those clubs able to readmit supporters to take their time.

"Some clubs will still have safety officers on furlough, it's taken everyone a bit by surprise," he added.

"We weren't really expecting anything before Christmas. There's a lot of work to do quite quickly and it's really important that we get this right.

"It's not a case of rushing into this and tripping over. It's a case of being measured, getting it right,

"The clubs will be taken by surprise because they were expecting nothing really before Christmas. We've been involved in discussions with the DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) who've been incredibly supportive.

"Clearly it's something we've been pressing for but it's literally in the last few days that it has become a reality."

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