Thank you to all supporters who co-operated with the club's efforts to keep fans and staff as safe as possible at Saturday evening's match against Watford.
We were able to check the COVID status and verify the identity of many thousands of fans entering the Amex, although inevitably it wasn't possible to check or verify everyone as queues started to build in one or two areas.
On the whole, the move to digital ticketing also worked extremely well with few issues.
Our aim of ensuring everyone came to the stadium prepared to produce their COVID status and verify their ID, while checking the majority of fans, minimising delays to turnstile entry as far as possible, and getting everyone safely inside the stadium in time for kick-off was achieved.
Again, we're very grateful for the patience and compliance of all fans, and the professionalism of our staff. With this level of co-operation, a challenging and complex operation was managed exceptionally well.
Working on the likelihood that the Government will mandate COVID pass checks at all Premier League stadia from 1 October 2021, we will continue to require all supporters to come to the stadium prepared to produce their COVID status (either pass or negative lateral flow test result within 48 hours of kick-off) at our next two home matches – versus Everton on Saturday 28 August 2021, kick-off 3pm, and Leicester City on Sunday 19 September 2021, kick-off 2pm.
These matches will provide us with further opportunities to review the time taken for checks, better understand the queuing patterns and staffing requirements in different areas of the stadium, help fans and staff get used to the measures, and ultimately allow us to refine and improve the processes we may be required to use in full for everyone and without exception from 1 October 2021.
Your continued patience, cooperation and support are all therefore very much appreciated.