ALL sporting events in Wales will be held behind closed doors from Boxing Day due to the surge in coronavirus cases, the Welsh government announced today.

Economy Minister Vaughan Gething announced the new measures for indoor and outdoor sporting events in a bid to slow the spread of the omicron variant.

Gething said: “Sporting events over the Christmas period are one of the big highlights of the year. Unfortunately, the new omicron variant is a significant development in the pandemic and could cause a large number of infections.

“We need to do everything we can to protect people’s health and control the spread of this awful virus.

“Throughout the pandemic we have followed scientific and public health advice to keep people safe. The advice is clear – we need to act now in response to the threat of omicron. We are giving people as much notice of these decisions as we can.

“Crowds will come back as soon as possible. We want everyone to be here to enjoy their favourite sports.”

Cardiff’s United Rugby Championship clash with Scarlets and Wrexham’s National League fixture against Solihull – both scheduled for December 26 – will be the first affected by the ruling.

And the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow will also have to be run behind closed doors despite advance ticket sales in excess of 6,000.

Cardiff City’s Championship clash against Coventry has already been postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak in the Bluebirds’ camp, as has the United Rugby Championship game between the Ospreys and the Dragons.

The first EFL fixture due to be affected is Swansea’s Championship clash with Luton, which is currently scheduled for December 29.

Cardiff City said in a statement: “Cardiff City Football Club acknowledges the instruction from the Welsh government for sporting events in Wales to be played behind closed doors for a limited period of time in an effort to curb the spread of the omicron variant.

“Following the postponement of our Boxing Day fixture with Coventry City on Monday, this is set to most immediately impact our FA Cup third round tie with Preston North End on January 9.”

Gething confirmed that a £3 million Spectator Sports Fund will be available to support those clubs affected by the loss of spectator revenue.

Chepstow Racecourse chief executive Phil Bell anticipated the move last week, telling BBC Wales: “We’ve seen this coming in recent days.

“It would be damaging – we’ve currently sold 6,000 tickets – an average price £35 — so people can do the maths. Around 800 people have booked hospitality packages at around £80 to £120 – there are significant amounts of revenue at stake here.”

Cardiff chief executive Mehmet Dalman insisted all new guidelines will be followed, but conceded another shut-out of fans will hit the Bluebirds hard.

“It’s a major blow from all aspects, but we have to put the safety of our fans, players and everyone first,” Dalman told talkSPORT.

“So we will follow the guidelines as they are laid out.

“These things are made for a reason and as much as we dislike them, we will certainly obey them.

“It’s a blow of course for football, a blow for our club, because we always want to play in front of our fan base, and that’s a great shame.”

Fans of Welsh football clubs should currently still be able to attend away matches in England, but Dalman feels further restrictions may be in the offing.

Asked if Cardiff fans could travel to away matches in England, Dalman replied: “Theoretically speaking that’s correct, in practical terms, let’s see what happens next.

“There are a lot more developments to come, I’m sure of that.

“So I would just wait to see the next announcements from the government as to the guidelines, and we go from there.”

Meanwhile all sports events in Scotland will be restricted to a maximum of 500 spectators for “up to three weeks.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon delivered the update following a Cabinet meeting today.

New rules will kick in on Boxing Day and affect the festive football fixtures, which include top-flight derbies in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee in the first few days of 2022.

They will also affect the double-header between Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh in the United Rugby Championship.

Sturgeon said the rationale behind the new limits was to slow Covid-19’s spread.

“Firstly we know that the much higher transmissibility of omicron means large gatherings have the potential to become very rapid super-spreader events, putting large numbers at risk of getting infected very quickly,” she said.

“Limiting these events helps reduce the risk of widespread transmission. It also cuts down the transmission risks associated with travel to and from these events.

“And second, and this is not an insignificant point, these large events put an additional burden on emergency services, especially the police and ambulance services.

“At a time when these services are already under severe pressure and also dealing with high staff absences, limiting large-scale events will help them focus on delivering essential services to the public.”