EPL to address players’ fears

MANCHESTER, England (AP):

THE ENGLISH Premier League (EPL) will seek to allay players’ concerns about health risks as the government prepares to release protocols allowing a phased resumption of contact training as coronavirus restrictions are eased.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday set out how elite sports could resume in June if there is not a new spike in COVID-19 infections.

But, with hundreds of people still dying each day, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said yesterday it was too early for games to be staged again in the capital, which contains five Premier League clubs.

“Sadiq is … concerned about the welfare of players competing in all professional sports, not just football,” the mayor’s office said in a statement. “There are huge questions to be asked how players could train safely, how they would travel to matches and how they could play competitive matches without the risk of spreading infection.”

GROUP TRAINING

The government is planning to release a strategy this week that allows players to resume group training, even as social distancing is being encouraged in the wider society.

“It’s about the building blocks – how long before we can go back into full-contact training?” Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters told reporters. “It does depend on what sort of contact because, obviously, you’re trying to ensure the players keep themselves safe even during that contact training situation and that will have to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.”

It is two months since the last games were played before the league was suspended during the pandemic.

“One thing is for sure,” Masters said, “all clubs will have to be safe and secure in the knowledge that their players are going to be fit before a decision on going back on the pitch is taken, given that they have had such a long lay-off.

“We have talked about four weeks of training but haven’t agreed yet, as we haven’t agreed to go back to training.”

Manchester City and England forward Raheem Sterling has broader concerns.

“The moment we do go back, we need to make sure it’s at a moment where it’s not just for footballing reasons, it’s safe for not just us footballers, but the whole medical staff, referees,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “I don’t know how that’s going to work. I feel like once that side of the people’s safety and the player’s safety is secured and their well-being is being looked after, then that’s the right time to go back in.”