Behind closed doors (sport)
[2][3] In Brazil, the practice of games without public access is known as "closed gates" (in Portuguese, portões fechados), even referred as such in the Brazilian Football Confederation's rulebook.One of the consequences of this was that Super Bowl LV, the first to be held in the stadium of a participating team, was also the least-attended NFL championship game since 1941, which was played in wartime two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor.In addition, private security contractors working for either the team or a league, and national agencies such as the United States Department of Homeland Security take large roles in preventing situations of fan violence before they can occur by restricting access to known troublesome fans either at the gate or at the stage of selling tickets (such as "do not sell" lists), along with heavy restrictions on bringing in items and screening with metal detectors and pat-down searches where bringing in a weapon or explosive device can result in immediate arrest and permanent banishment from a venue, and other examples such as the "clear bag" policy, which only allows spectators to bring in bags that can be easily seen through.Fans elsewhere in the world can easily travel to most if not all of their league's stadiums by road or by train, and bus and rail carriers have evolved there to cater to the expected demand.In rare circumstances where a serious incident has occurred (such the 2004 Pacers–Pistons brawl in the NBA), sports authorities have leaned toward identifying and excluding the specific people involved as opposed to indiscriminately punishing the wider, law-abiding fan base.In contrast to the rest of the world where "behind closed doors" games are given out as penalties for previous violations or to prevent potential violence (stadium safety issues, checkered history of rival supporters), such occurrences in North America have happened for entirely different reasons.Perhaps one of the first and most famous incidents of a sport being carried out behind closed doors was Game 3 of the World Chess Championship 1972 in Reykjavík, Iceland, often referred to as the Match of the Century.Juventus were ordered to play a home game behind closed doors after their fans had racially abused Internazionale striker Mario Balotelli during a 1–1 Serie A draw in April 2009.When the Swedish Tennis Association noted that a cancellation would result in Sweden suffering a forfeit loss and being eliminated from the Davis Cup altogether, it was agreed that the Sweden-Israel match would be played without spectators on "security grounds".The match was originally scheduled for 19 December, but was postponed due to heavy snow in Edinburgh that covered the pitch and created major access issues for potential spectators.The experiment was so successful that the TFF planned to require that teams allocate an unspecified number of free tickets for women and children at all future club matches.After Ajax also apologised to their opponents, they were fined €10,000 for failing to provide adequate security to prevent the fan, who was serving a three-year stadium ban, from entering the arena.[16] Surrounding violence in Catalonia due to the 2017 Catalan independence referendum, the match between Barcelona and Las Palmas in the 2017–18 La Liga was played behind closed doors.[17][18][19] On 1 March 2022, due to Belarusian involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, UEFA required Belarus football club and national team to play of home matches at neutral venues and behind closed doors until further notice.[25] On 28 April 2015, a Major League Baseball (MLB) game between the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles was played behind closed doors due to security concerns.[26] Unofficially, some fans were able to watch the game through obstructed gates in left-center field, along with guests at the nearby Hilton Baltimore, which overlooks Oriole Park at Camden Yards.[28] This was the first time a major professional sporting event in North America was held in an empty venue; in Minor League Baseball, a 2008 Iowa Cubs game was played without public admittance due to flooding in Des Moines, Iowa, while a 2002 Charleston RiverDogs game featured an intentional "Nobody Night" stunt, where spectators could not take their seat in the stands (but were still allowed to be in other areas of the ballpark) until after the attendance count was made official in the fifth inning.[33] In 1985, a measles outbreak on campus led Boston University to hold home ice hockey games without spectators for a week, in order to control the disease's spread.[35] Games without crowds were often the norm during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the period before COVID-19 vaccinations were widely available, due to government-imposed restrictions on large gatherings to prevent spread of COVID-19.WWE moved all of its professional wrestling programs to a studio at its training facility in Orlando between 11 March 2020, and August 2020 with no audience, including its flagship event WrestleMania 36 (originally scheduled to be held at Tampa, Florida's Raymond James Stadium on 5 April).[75] Rival promotion All Elite Wrestling similarly moved its weekly programs to a closed set, beginning 18 March at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida (and a brief stint in April at a training warehouse in Georgia before returning to Daily's Place); the promotion began to a readmit a limited number of ticketed fans (10–15% capacity of venue) in late August 2020.[97] A match between the Seattle Dragons and LA Wildcats of the XFL was scheduled to be played behind closed doors; the league's decision came shortly after Washington state governor Jay Inslee announced a ban on public assemblies of over 250 people.[105][106][107][108] While the 2021–22 NHL season began with all teams hosting spectators at full capacity, by December 2021 all Canadian NHL teams became subject to provincial public health orders to control the spread of Omicron variant, with Quebec prohibiting spectators at all sporting events, and the owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets both enacted a behind closed doors policy after Ontario and Manitoba restricted arena capacity to a maximum of 1,000 and 250 people respectively.
Ford FieldDetroitCOVID-19 pandemicBrazilian Football ConfederationCampeonato CatarinenseSérie DH1N1 flu pandemicWashington Nationalsquarantine2019-20 NHL seasonNorth Division2020-21 NHL seasonNational Football LeagueSuper Bowl LVNFL championship gameattack on Pearl Harborcollective bargaining agreementsescrowMajor League Baseball2020 Major League Baseball seasonMinor League BaseballCanadian Football Leagueprivate securityUnited States Department of Homeland Securitymetal detectorspat-downforfeit rulesdraft picksfamily-friendlyracial segregation in the United StatesDallas CowboysNFC Eastnearest division rivalcrosstown rivalryhooliganismPacers–Pistons brawlWorld Chess Championship 1972ReykjavíkIcelandBobby FischerBoris SpasskyCastillaWest Ham UnitedUpton ParkAnderlechtAston VillaVilla ParkReal MadridBayern MunichNapoliSantiago Bernabeu Stadiumkilled during riotingSerie ACataniaPalermoItalian Football FederationJuventusracially abusedInternazionaleMario BalotelliIsraelMalmöRioting outside the arenaFC Dinamo BucureștiFC Slovan Liberecpenultimate round of league gamesswine flu outbreakApertura 2015QuerétaroEstadio JaliscoGuadalajararugby union2010–11 Heineken CupEdinburghCastresMurrayfieldEuropean Rugby CupTurkish Football FederationFenerbahçeManisasporŞükrü Saracoğlu StadiumIstanbulEredivisie2011–12 KNVB CupAmsterdam Arenaran onto the pitchEsteban AlvaradoUrawa Red DiamondsJ.LeagueShimizu S-PulseSaitama Stadium2017 Catalan independence referendumBarcelonaLas Palmas2017–18 La LigaCamp NouBelarusian involvement in the Russian invasion of UkrainePhilippine men's basketball teambrawl against AustraliaSmart Araneta ColiseumQuerétaro–Atlas riotLiga MXQuerétaro F.C.Atlas F.C.Liga de Expansión MX2015 Chicago White Sox–Baltimore Orioles crowdless gameChicago White SoxBaltimore Oriolesdeath of Freddie Grayriots and civil unrest in Baltimorestreaming serviceHilton BaltimoreOriole Park at Camden Yardsotherwise unbreakable recordWorcester National League teamIowa CubsDes Moines, IowaCharleston RiverDogsthe ballparkofficialAT&T NationalCongressional Country ClubBethesdaMarylandderechostroke play