Look! Football fans return to stadiums as England relaxes COVID-19 restrictions

With England relaxing COVID-19 restrictions, football fans are heading back inside stadiums to watch matches as the new 2021/22 Premier League season kicks off. Police on horses outside Goodison Park in Liverpool, before the match between Everton and Southampton.

Getting ready for the action! Burnley fans outside the Turf Moor stadium before the match against Brighton. There are no social distancing rules or COVID-19 vaccine certificates needed.

Chelsea fans outside the stadium before the match against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge. Prime minister Boris Johnson announced his intention to end social distancing rules last month.

Step 4 in the easing of COVID-19 measures came into effect from the middle of last month.

Wolverhampton Wanderers fans outside Leicester City's King Power Stadium before the match. The rule changes will prove crucial for live sport, allowing supporters to return to stadiums, race tracks and even indoor spaces like snooker halls, just as they did before the pandemic began in March 2020.

There was a full house at Old Trafford as Manchester United beat Leeds United 5-1. The Premier League said it intended to consult with public authorities to ensure a safe return to sold out grounds.

Fans have been hugely missed and the announcement by the Government to allow them back in for the new 2021/22 Premier League season has been hugely welcomed.

A young Everton fan soaks in the sights of Goodison Park before the match against Southampton. PM Johnson said, “We will move away from legal restrictions and allow people to make their own informed decisions about how to manage the virus."