Swine flu shuts the doors on Mexican soccer fans

April 26, 4:06 PMSeattle Soccer ExaminerDavid Falk

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Today, as the numbers and the fear of disease grow, the Mexican Football League played two matches in Mexico City inside empty stadiums where thousands and thousands of fans were told to stay away.

Bloomberg.com reports: Museums, theaters and other venues in the Mexico City area, where large crowds gather, have shut down voluntarily and concerts and other events have been canceled to help contain the disease. Two professional soccer games will be played today in different Mexico City stadiums without any fans.

The decision to close both matches to fans was made on Friday, according to groundreport.com.

Mexico's two most-popular soccer clubs, Chivas and Club America, were affected by the government decision.

Goal.com reports that "This decision was done with the full consciousness from clubs UNAM, Guadalajara, America and UAG in solidarity with the measures implemented by health authorities," FMF General Secretary Decio De Maria said.

Although the clubs might suffer financially from lost revenue, De Maria insisted the teams and the federation had placed that a far second behind the public's safety.

"The clubs understand that their solidarity with the residents of Mexico City is primordial," De Maria said. "Beyond the financial impact, the society deserves this support."

 Pumas drew 1:1 with Chivas in one of the closed matches.

America's goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa arrives to Aztec Stadium wearing a surgical mask before his team's soccer game with Tecos in Mexico City, Mexico, Sunday, April 26, 2009.

Riot police walk past Mexico's National Autonomous University soccer stadium, which was closed to the public, shortly before a game against Chivas in Mexico City, Sunday, April 26, 2009. Public officials closed the stadiums to the public Sunday, and health workers screened airports and bus stations for people sickened by a new strain of swine flu that experts fear could become a global epidemic.

Mexico's National Autonomous University soccer stadium, which was closed to the public, sits empty as Pumas plays Chivas in a Mexican League soccer game in Mexico City, Sunday, April 26, 2009.