Crossword Genius

English supporter infiltrating empty stadium gets respect (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

esteem

'respect' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'english supporter infiltrating empty stadium' is the wordplay.
'english' becomes 'E' (abbreviation).
'supporter' becomes 'tee' (a golf tee acts as a support).
'infiltrating' is an insertion indicator.
'empty' means to remove the middle letters.
'stadium' with its centre removed is 'sm'.
'tee' going within 'sm' is 'steem'.
'e'+'steem'='ESTEEM'

'gets' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for esteem that I've seen before include "'Regard, respect (6)'" , "Honour - regard" , "Rate highly" , "Admiration, regard" , "High opinion, great respect" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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