With coronavirus wreaking havoc on sports fixtures and competitions across Europe, UEFA has said it will wait as long as possible before deciding to play Euro 2020 playoffs behind closed doors.
Were such a thing was to occur, Kevin Kilbane thinks that it would only be a good thing for Ireland if they could play Slovakia in an empty stadium
The former Ireland defender was speaking on Tuesday’s Football Show when he explained how the lack of atmosphere generally helps the away team.
“I think it would be a huge advantage for us if there was no crowd there,” said Kevin Kilbane.
Kilbane, who won 110 caps for the Republic of Ireland, famously took part in the 2002 World Cup playoff against Iran including the away leg Tehran.
“Even when I would’ve gone away to some of the hostile environments, you look back and you think that they were great games to play in but the home side does get a bit of momentum from the home crowd,” he recalled.
However, if UEFA were to make the decision and have the game behind closed doors it would neutralise the crowd factor and benefit Ireland.
“When you’ve watched behind closed door games, and there’s been a number of them played in European competitions, they’re kind of ‘nothing’ games.
“They’re kind of like practice games, that’s how they turn out.
“I think that would only help us if that were to be the case and we went there and played behind closed doors,” he said.
However, cancelling games also isn’t out of the question according to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
“I wouldn’t exclude anything at this moment. I hope we will never have to get into this direction. I think it will be difficult in any case to make a global ban because the situation (in each country) is really different,” he told reporters.
“The health of people is much more important than any football game. The health is beyond anything and that’s why we have to look at the situation and hope that it (the coronavirus outbreak) will decrease rather than increase,” Infantino said.
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