Fulham’s trip to Swansea City will be played behind closed doors after the Welsh government introduced measures designed to quell the spread of the omicron variant.

The Whites will travel to the Liberty Stadium on Monday 3 January for a 3pm kick off. The game is due to be screened line on Sky Sports.

The restrictions affecting Welsh sport will begin on Boxing Day with no definitive end date set at present.

Welsh economy minister Vaughan Gething said a £3m fund will be in place to “support” clubs and venues.

In a statement the Welsh government said: “The latest figures showed a further steep rise in the number of confirmed cases of the fast-moving 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.”