87,565 – This is how many cases of coronavirus infections were recorded in the UK on Thursday. This is the highest number of infections since the start of the pandemic. The UK is struggling with a new variant of the virus – the omicron – which is having an increasingly heavy impact on the Premier League.
In the last week alone, four league games and Tottenham’s match against Rennes in the European Conference League have been canceled, leaving Antonio Conte’s team dropped out of the competition. Half of the scheduled matches in the Premier League will not take place on Saturday and Sunday. All because of the rapidly growing number of infected players. Players whose more and more experts point to the main culprits of the current situation in the competition.
Premier League suspended again?
More and more Premier League clubs are pushing for a 10-14 day suspension of games. According to them, this time would be enough to contain the increasing number of infections among players. This would be a similar solution to what was used in the 2019/20 season when the coronavirus began to rage in Europe. Then, however, the break in the competition lasted from March 13 to June 17, 2020.
On Monday, a crisis meeting of the Premier League clubs will take place, at which a decision on the competition will be made. While their organizer wants the matches to be played as much as possible, the stronger clubs heavily affected by the coronavirus may demand a break in the competition.
They are to be headed by Manchester United, whose Tuesday match against Brentford and Saturday against Brighton have been postponed because Ralph Rangnick has only seven healthy players at his disposal. For a match to take place, the team must have at least 14 first-team players, including at least one goalkeeper.
The problem concerns not only the Premier League, but also the lower leagues. The EFL, the body responsible for the Championship, League One and League Two, has announced that matches in these competitions will take place as much as possible, despite the fact that a total of 14 matches have been canceled recently in these three leagues.
– If we had any evidence that the suspension of the games for the next weekend would save the games during the holidays, we would definitely do it. At this point, however, we do not have any indications that this could happen, EFL CEO Rick Parry told The Times.
And he added: – What else would be the suspended games in the near future, if the situation in the country and, above all, in the clubs does not calm down. We must do everything to make the games as fair as possible, which will not be so easy these days.
Coaches do not speak with one voice
The discussion on the possibility of suspending the games in the Premier League is getting wider and wider and has more and more supporters and opponents. – I don’t have a good answer to what would happen if the league were suspended. I don’t know what to do after two weeks off. In my opinion, such a solution would not be good, but the schedule has to be more flexible. Due to the coronavirus, we have dropped out of three players so far, and we are playing matches on December 26 and 28. With 13 available players, it’s unimaginable. There are many questions and so few answers, said Liverpool coach Juergen Klopp on Thursday, who was unable to benefit from infected Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones in the game against Newcastle United.
Other managers made a much sharper statement. – The number of matches and the proximity of contact are not conducive to either the players or the staffs. Especially during the holiday season, players have very little time to recover, making them more prone to the virus, said West Ham United coach David Moyes.
– I don’t think the fans want to watch a league where half of the matches are not played. The league thus loses a lot and a sense of injustice is born around it. The authorities should take a bold decision that would restore this justice – these are in turn the words of Newcastle United coach Eddie Howe.
Brentford’s coach, Thomas Frank, spoke in a similar tone, but even more sharply. – Let’s cancel all matches this weekend. Playing half of the games does not make sense – he said.
Although medical experts in the UK predict a further increase in coronavirus cases, at the Monday meeting of the Premier League clubs it is to propose to continue the games without interruption. The biggest concern with the potential suspension of the tournament is the tight schedule. With a possible suspension of the league, it would probably have to be extended in May, which would certainly not appeal to the federations that are to start playing in the League of Nations in June.
Chelsea is the best example of problems with deadlines for possibly postponed matches. Thomas Tuchel’s team on Thursday played against Everton without contested Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner, Mateo Kovacic and Callum Hudson-Odoi. Omikrodon also touched Ben Chilwell, but he would not have played anyway due to a knee injury. Chelsea, however, cannot afford to postpone matches, because they still compete on five fronts: the Premier League, the Champions League, the League Cup, the FA Cup and the FIFA World Club Cup, which will be held in early February in the United Arab Emirates.
– I could make excuses, but many things are beyond my control. I prefer to focus on available players and future matches, said Tuchel.
What to do with the unvaccinated?
The Premier League seems to believe in its tightened sanitary rules. Anyone wishing to enter their club’s training facility can only do so after a quick coronavirus test. More accurate PCR tests are performed in clubs twice a week. Although no one is thinking about returning to the “bubble” or closing the stadiums, the league’s rulers almost every day appeal to players to limit their social contacts.
There is also increasing talk about vaccinations. Or rather, the lack of them in many players. which revealed data on the COVID-19 vaccination among football players. It found 59 percent of athletes are on two doses of the vaccine, and 16 percent are expected to receive a second dose soon. It turns out that 25 percent of EFL league players do not intend to take the anti-coronavirus preparation.
These numbers are to look even worse in the Premier League. According to unofficial information, only 7 out of 20 clubs have immunization rates above 50 percent. In two of the remaining 13, immunization rates were below 20 percent! Although the club officially denied it, in October “The Times” announced that one of the worst in this respect is Manchester United.
The sources of the journal say that the league is creating more and more tension between the clubs in which almost all players are vaccinated, and between those in which the players do not want to vaccinate. Although Klopp has long urged players to trust doctors and medical professionals, many still refuse to get vaccinated due to the increasing number of heart attacks in the stadium or alleged fertility problems to be associated with the coronavirus preparations.
The willingness of these players will certainly not increase the cases of, among others, van Dijk, Fabinho and Lukaku who tested positive despite being vaccinated twice. In the Premier League, however, they wonder more and more about what to do with unvaccinated players. Because it is they who destabilize the game to a large extent.
The law in the UK obliges any unvaccinated person to be quarantined after coming into contact with an infected person. The same does not have to be done by people with two doses of the vaccine. This includes Therefore, at one of the recent press conferences, Steven Gerrard said that Aston Villa in the winter window will be thinking hard about the sense of bringing in unvaccinated players.
“All clubs should demand that their players be vaccinated. Footballers should listen to doctors and experts, not social media and conspiracy theories. If you don’t want to get vaccinated, stay at home, because if the bubble doesn’t work, the ball football is going to die. Professional sport is on the brink of an abyss, and it is your fault, “wrote Henry Winter in The Times.
He added: “Leeds, Brentford and Wolves have shown that good cooperation with the team is possible. Everyone should go in that direction. Those who do not want to should not be paid. Even if it is a draconian punishment, the players must understand that the country is struggling with great problems. And if the country is, it is also discipline and clubs that make them big money. “
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
