Premier League return may see 'CGI fans in place of empty seats'

Using 'CGI supporters' inside empty stadiums is reportedly being considered for the Premier League to try and keep viewers interested for behind closed doors games.

The coronavirus means any return for the English top flight this summer is likely to be behind closed doors, which will take away much of the atmosphere brought by supporters that can offer a layer of excitement to the game.

However according to a inews, the use of computer generated images for supporters is being seriously considered by TV companies to maintain viewer interest.

Broadcasters are trying to think of ways to avoid eerily quiet stadiums and one solution appears to be using the CGI to block the images of banks of empty seats.

Sportsmail reported on Wednesday that Premier League clubs have already been trying to find a way around the empty seats problems, and keep fans in touch with the game.

Proposals included using cardboard cut outs of supporters, while pumping crowd noise into stadiums is another idea to prevent fans being turned off over games cutting a souless image.

Fading public interest would have serious financial implications for commercial revenues and there is a belief that fanbases must be kept engaged over the coming months.

Some of the ideas appear to be throwbacks from a previous era, with Arsenal once using a mural of a crowd behind a goal at Highbury in 1992 while work on redeveloping the North Bank behind it was carried out.

Fears over supporter dissatisfaction appear to have grounds, many English football supporters having previously been put off of matches behind closed doors.

In a Nations League game held in 2018, Croatia played out a goalless draw with England in front of an empty ground in Rijeka following a supporter ban, with many criticising the soulless atmosphere of the encounter.

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