Leicester City have won the FA Cup final, beating Chelsea in front of the UK’s biggest football crowd since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Youri Tielemans scored the only goal in a 1-0 win for Brendan Rodgers’ side – his first trophy since taking over, and a first ever FA Cup triumph for the Foxes.
Chelsea were denied a last-minute equaliser by the video assistant referee (VAR), having piled on the pressure in pursuit of a goal that would have taken the game to extra time.
Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans scores the winning goal and (below) celebrates with his teammates
Around 22,000 people provided a real atmosphere for the showpiece game at Wembley Stadium, which was also attended by officials and dignitaries – including Prince William in his role as president of the FA.
Supporters were allowed in as part of the government’s Events Research Programme (ERP) and had to present a negative COVID-19 test result.
ERP is running pilots to examine the risk of transmission of coronavirus from attendance at such events – seeking to explore ways to enable people to attend them safely in a post-lockdown UK.
Researchers will monitor indoor air quality as well as movement of air at different locations in the venue.
The aim of the research is to create guidance on how to minimise the risk of airborne transmission of viruses at large-scale events, and help kick-start the sport and entertainment industries as restrictions continue to be lifted.
The researchers are also examining data from Tuesday’s Brit Awards ceremony at London’s O2 Arena, which was attended by 4,500 people.
Some 22,000 fans attended the match at Wembley
Dr Liora Malki-Epshtein, of University College London’s Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering, said: “The first phase of the work will be one piece of the puzzle informing government policy on the feasibility and possibility of reopening events safely in the summer and beyond.
“We cannot control human behaviour at events but we can help to ensure that the environment the participants are in is as safe as possible.”
Last month, Manchester City won the League Cup Final against Tottenham, also at Wembley, in front of a crowd of around 8,000 people.
Everyone there also had to present a negative COVID test result before being allowed in, while City fans had to travel down to London in official club transport.