‘How match-fit will players be if the season commences by mid-June?’: West Ham chief executive Karren Brady believes questions over player training and hygiene and medical protocols still need to be answered before the Premier League resumes
- The coronavirus crisis has caused sport to be put on hold across the globe
- Karren Brady is struggling to see how football can resume any time soon
- The EPL has stated that its objective remains to complete the season
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
West Ham chief executive Karren Brady believes the timescale for a Premier League return is no clearer than when the coronavirus lockdown started almost a month ago.
The EPL stated, after talks with the 20 clubs on Friday, that its objective remains to complete the season but ‘at this stage all dates are tentative while the impact of COVID-19 develops’.
Brady feels that complex questions still need to be answered over player training, the presence of police at matches, virus testing, hygiene and medical protocols.
West Ham chief Karren Brady believes the timescale for a Premier League return is unclear
Writing in her column in the The Sun, she said: ‘Players will have been able to retain some physical fitness at home. But if social-distancing rules are still in place, physical match-play training will not be allowed – you can’t tackle from two meters away. So, how match-fit will players be if the season commences, as we all hope it will, by mid-June?
‘Police officers will need to be at games even if they are behind closed doors, as some supporters will travel to the stadium, even if they cannot come in to watch. But the police will want to ensure attending matches does not drain resources away from other matters.
‘Everyone at the stadium – and even behind closed doors this is about 300-500 people – including security, staff, medical officers, players, referees and media, will have to have temperature checks, fill out health questionnaires and observe social distancing.
‘All this is manageable but what if a player gets injured, where do we send him? It can’t be to an NHS hospital that is already under pressure… so then what?’
The EPL stated, after talks with the 20 clubs, that its objective remains to complete the season
Share this article
Source: Read Full Article