The Catalan regional government on Thursday ruled out FC Barcelona playing its Champions League home games with a reduced number of supporters in the stands of the Camp Nou Stadium.

Barcelona had produced a safety protocol with the hope of allowing 1,000 fans to attend Tuesday's Champions League debut at home to Ferencvaros in the 98,000 capacity ground, but the proposal was rejected by the Catalan region's health minister, Alba Verges and health secretary, Dr. Josep Maria Argimon, who said he "would not be in favor at this moment."

Wednesday saw the Catalan regional authority announce the closure of all bars and restaurants in Catalonia from Friday in an attempt to halt the spread of the coronavirus and Argimon said it would be "difficult to explain" those measures if football fans were then allowed to attend matches.

"It would not be the image that I would like to give" he concluded on radio station RAC1.

Verges also ruled out allowing even a small number into the stadium.

"It is very difficult for us to think about allowing in public in the current situation. We can't say it will be like this for the whole season, but it is impossible for October 20th," she explained.

Elsewhere Real Sociedad president, Jokin Aperribay informed on Wednesday that the San Sebastian based club has asked the Basque regional authority for permission to allow 1,000 fans to see the club's Europa League tie at home to Napoli on October 29.

"We will scrupulously follow any protocols that the authorities indicate," he explained in a press conference.

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