Crystal Palace's Van Aanholt slams UK Govt allowing people in theatre but not in stadiums

Crystal Palace star Patrick van Aanholt took to Twitter and slammed the UK Government's decision to allow people inside theatres but not in stadiums on matchdays. Earlier on Monday, the Dutch defender posted a couple of images showing a theatre full of people watching a show, clustered together and raised questions as to why fans are still not being allowed in football stadiums to watch games live. The UK Government had initially planned to allow a small percentage of football fans to return inside stadiums from October 1 onwards but went against the decision after a surge in COVID-19 cases across the UK. 

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Crystal Palace defender Patrick van Aanholt calls out UK Government in a witty tweet

On Monday, Crystal Palace star Patrick van Aanholt uploaded two pictures of several people watching a musical at a theatre. In both images, several people were seen close to each other in a closed theatre with three tiers. In one image, the theatre seemed to be packed with people, who were seen applauding the performers on stage, ignoring social distancing protocols. 

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The Crystal Palace star then captioned his post by taking aim at the UK Government, questioning the judgment behind not allowing fans inside football stadiums but allowing close gatherings in a theatre. Van Aanholt began his tweet by stating that he wasn't an expert on the COVID-19 situation but had "common sense" to understand that there were plenty of social distancing protocols being ignored in the theatre. The 30-year-old Crystal Palace left-back then urged his followers to explain to him the difference between having a packed theatre and allowing football fans back in stadiums. 

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Coronavirus UK: Football fans return in stadiums delayed due to rise in COVID-19 cases

Reports from the Daily Mail had claimed that the UK Government had initially planned to allow a small percentage of fans to return inside stadiums. However, a surge in the COVID-19 cases in the UK led to the Government scrapping that option. According to Worldometer, there have been a total of 617,688 COVID-19 cases in the UK resulting in 42,875 deaths so far.

Earlier in the day, League One club Shrewsbury Town also mocked the UK Government for not allowing fans inside the stadiums but allowing people to attend shows in compact theatres.

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Image Credits - Shrewsbury Town Twitter, Patrick van Aanholt Instagram