Coronavirus in sport

[Lineker]

Quote

Liverpool and Everton will be the only Premier League clubs able to welcome fans from Boxing Day after the government announced more areas would be moved into the toughest tier 4 restrictions.

Brighton and Southampton had also been allowed up to 2,000 supporters but they will lose that privilege under the changes. Liverpool are at home to West Brom on Sunday and Everton host Manchester City the following day.

The growing disruption to football caused by Covid-19 was underlined on Wednesday when Rotherham and Portsmouth had to postpone matches and it emerged that a record 32 players across the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship tested positive last week.

Rotherham have called off their Championship match at Middlesbrough on Boxing Day. The club’s home fixture against Derby last Saturday was postponed after one of their players tested positive for coronavirus and others showed symptoms, and “a number of further positive cases of Covid-19” within the first-team squad mean they cannot fulfil the fixture at Boro.

Portsmouth’s next two League One fixtures have been postponed after five confirmed cases of Covid-19. The league leaders were due to host Swindon on Boxing Day and play at Bristol Rovers on 29 December. The club announced the positive tests affect playing and backroom staff, including the defender Jack Whatmough, who missed Friday’s win at Hull after feeling unwell.

The number of positive tests in the top two tiers of the women’s game has increased rapidly: 32 last week from 864 tests follows four the previous week (from 854) and two the week before that (from 867).

The Football Association said the most recent tests were carried out “between 14 December 2020 and 20 December 2020 inclusive”. No matches in the WSL or Women’s Championship are due to be played until the weekend of 9-10 January.

EFL clubs are reviewing the measures they are taking to limit the spread, with the Ipswich physio Matt Byard saying a temporary suspension of play could act as a “circuit-breaker” and the League One club’s manager, Paul Lambert, concerned the system is operating “on a wing and a prayer”.

Ipswich, Bristol Rovers and Sunderland are among clubs who have had to call off matches because of Covid this month.

Rotherham said: “We have reluctantly – but with the safety of our players and staff at the forefront of our minds – informed the EFL and our opponents, Middlesbrough, that we will be unable to fulfil our Boxing Day fixture.”

The EFL will open an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the cancelation of the game, as it does with all such postponements.

Premier League players in tier 4 areas will be tested for Covid-19 twice a week as soon as it is practically possible to do so and increased testing will be widened out to top-division clubs in lower-tier areas from next month, it is understood.

 

[Lineker]

Quote

The Burnley manager, Sean Dyche, has called for fast-tracked coronavirus vaccinations in football, with the money saved on testing being diverted to the NHS.

Speaking before Saturday’s FA Cup home encounter against MK Dons, Dyche revealed there were “a couple” of Covid-19 cases in the Clarets camp. He also talked about the benefits he feels could come from “getting some vaccinations quicker throughout football”.

Dyche – who stressed he was not suggesting footballers should take priority over “the essential people who need vaccinations” such as key workers, the elderly and the vulnerable – spoke about benefits in terms of the wider picture of the pandemic, and helping the game stay “a competitive industry”.

“I think vaccination is the way forward throughout football,” said Dyche. “I can only talk for the Premier League because I’m in the Premier League, but I think it would be good for football. I appreciate some people will be surprised by that comment, but if you think about it rationally, we are all going to get vaccinated. A lot of people wanted football back ... the cash it generates through tax, the wellbeing of what the players do many times has been seen ... there’s a lot of good going through football.

“The amount of money being spent on testing in the Premier League, if that money was channelled back into the NHS and the vaccinations system, surely that’s a better place to be than it is just continuing testing a load of footballers two, three, four times a week. I appreciate there’ll be some people who say, ‘why should footballers get vaccinated?’, but ... if there’s 20 Premier League clubs and 100 vaccinations at a club, let’s say, I would imagine the payback to the system, the NHS and the vaccination system, financially, would be considerable.

“I’m told if you are vaccinated, you don’t need to keep testing. So therefore if the testing diminishes, that money could be used for a much better cause in my opinion, and therefore football stays a competitive industry rather than what it might end up, a skewed industry, because of players missing from games. I appreciate there will be people who disagree with me, probably wholeheartedly, but I just think the balance of getting some vaccinations quicker throughout football, the payback would be enormous.”

Dyche emphasised he was “well aware there’s people way in front of football”, before adding: “I just think we have to be careful with the sport. It’s not beyond anyone’s health, quite obviously. But the competitive nature of the game will diminish if teams are losing five, six, seven players a time. That would skew possible outcomes of a whole season’s work. I must reiterate, I’m not remotely trying to step in front of the key workers, the essential people who need vaccinations. I’m just suggesting if there is a window to fast-track through football, to get it back to being fully competitive, on an even playing field ...

“I just think we’re going into that dangerous moment of how many games need to be called off before it’s time to lock down again, and I’m just trying to think of a possible thought process to find a way through.”

Dyche’s side are scheduled to host Manchester United in the Premier League three days after the MK Dons match, and he added: “We have got a couple of cases which will affect us over the coming days. It’s probable that it affects the next two games. We get re-tested again on Friday, so we’re going to have to see what the next round brings.”

 

[Gazz]

I think his heart is in the right place but it will take about 0.0000000000000000000000000000000001 of a second for 'Pampered millionaire footballers are getting priority treatment' complaints to take hold.

[Colly]

It's a weird one, as he's rightly said he's only suggesting it so that the money spent on testing can go 'towards the NHS', but this concept of private individuals being able to just throw money into the NHS doesn't really work, and shouldn't really work because that's not the bloody point. Money isn't the issue with the vaccination process, time and capacity is, so to even consider young physically fit individuals who can easily avoid contact with most of society at this point is insane.

No doubt at all that his heart is in the right place though. 

[Lineker]

 

[GA!]

Quote

Grimsby Town have accepted a suspended fine after breaches of the English Football League's Covid-19 rules led to three matches being postponed.

It is thought they are the first club in the country to be sanctioned for breaking the rules during the pandemic.

The postponements in September followed a positive test for player Jack Curran.

But an investigation found that social distancing rules had not been followed, meaning more players than should have been necessary had to self-isolate.

Players were allowed to congregate in communal areas at their Cheapside training ground, while the BBC also understands former boss Ian Holloway admitted to investigators that he played darts with some of his players, which he claimed was a training tool.

It is thought players were also involved in car sharing and that the Mariners failed to conduct an adequate risk assessment by a suitable specialist before re-opening their kitchen at the training ground.

Although players and staff were told to self-isolate for 14 days - leading to the postponements - the investigator found that, if protocols had been properly observed, only two players should have been affected.

"Quite honestly this should not have happened," chairman Philip Day told BBC Radio Humberside after the club were fined £4,880, which is suspended until June.

"We're disappointed because, prior to the players returning to training, we had put in place protocols which were approved by the EFL and we gave a full morning's training to the staff and players to ensure they were fully conversant with the protocol.

"The protocols are there for a purpose and they must be complied with. They're all adults, but sometimes you've just got to reinforce the message time and again."

Day also said the playing of darts was "unknown to the board and senior management" and was "really beyond the protocols".

"Olly [Holloway] used the playing of darts to build up team ethos and sadly he shouldn't have done it," he added.

Grimsby are also facing other costs, including an EFL bill of £13,000, believed to be the cost of the investigation, and reasonable costs incurred by the teams they were due to face at the time - Cheltenham Town, Bradford City and Hull City.

- Link's Gaff

 

WE'RE NUMBER ONE! WE'RE NUMBER ONE!

[Lineker]

 

[Lineker]

Quote

Premier League clubs are to vote on whether to allow fans back for the final day of the season with concerns that home teams could have an significant advantage in the battle for European places and the relegation fight.

Boris Johnson announced the government’s post-lockdown plans on Monday and up to 10,000 spectators could be let into grounds on 23 May, when Fulham are due to play Newcastle at Craven Cottage in what is potentially a relegation decider, and Brighton – currently fifth from bottom – travel to Arsenal. Spurs visit eighth-placed Aston Villa for a match that could be key to Europa League qualification.

Premier League sources said they were consulting with clubs, and confirmed that a vote to allow fans would need the approval of 14 of the 20 clubs at a shareholders meeting.

One potential solution is for pilot matches to be staged from mid-April as part of the government’s test events programme. Such a move could allow between 2,000 and 4,000 fans back inside grounds, although Premier League and government sources stressed much would depend on how smoothly the earlier phases of the lockdown easing measures went.

There is also expected to be an application from the EFL for the Carabao Cup final on 25 April at Wembley to have fans as a pilot event. However, one senior source expressed scepticism, given the number of Manchester City fans that could travel to see them play Spurs.

Meanwhile, the chief executive of Lancashire County Cricket Club, Daniel Gidney, has urged the government to allow the return of spectators for the County Championship. “Cricket is a perfect audience because a lot of them will have been vaccinated,” he said, adding that it was important pilots or trails were not restricted to football.

“I want to be able to get members back watching county championship in April – not in huge numbers but we need to get those pilots away,” he said. “Let’s give the government the data so we don’t rush in blind on 17 May. If you have 500 people going into a store – or 500 in a massive beer garden – how is that different to 500 watching in a cricket ground?”

From 17 May venues will be allowed to have up to 10,000 or 25% of capacity, whichever is smaller, and restrictions will be eased further after 21 June.

While the prospect of a 90,000 capacity crowd inside Wembley for the Euro 2020 final on 12 July remains unlikely – especially given most fans will be using public transport – the hope is that a series of pilots will be able to show attending sport events is safe, especially once all adults have had their Covid vaccinations.

 

[Baddar]

*checks if we're home on the final day of the season, finds out we're away at Wolves*

Absolute disgrace. No fans for 37 games, so the 38th should be no different.

[Lineker]

4 minutes ago, Baddar said:

*checks if we're home on the final day of the season, finds out we're away at Wolves*

Absolute disgrace. No fans for 37 games, so the 38th should be no different.

There is also this Athletic 'exclusive': Premier League’s 37th round could be moved back so fans can attend

Quote

Conversations are being held about the Premier League moving the 37th round of fixtures back to midweek so fans can attend, The Athletic can reveal.

On Monday, the government announced that up to 10,000 supporters would be able to return to stadiums from 17 May — which would see them in for the final round of games.

But amid concerns about whether that would damage the sporting integrity of the league, The Athletic understands the penultimate weekend of games could now be moved to midweek — after the government's target return date of 17 May.

Which games are on the penultimate weekend?

• Brighton v Man City
• Burnley v Liverpool
• Chelsea v Leicester City
• Crystal Palace v Arsenal
• Everton v Wolves
• Man United v Fulham
• Newcastle v Sheffield United
• Southampton v Leeds
• Tottenham v Aston Villa
• West Brom v West Ham

[Baddar]

All joking aside, that would be the fairest option of all, if every team got to host a home game with fans. I know some teams have been able to do this already, but this would be an even bigger step towards normality.

[The Lusophone]

I mean... given our home form, pretty sure our fans would rather see an away game.

[The Buscher]

More and more US teams are allowing fans at games but in limited numbers.  In nearly all cases, seats can be bought in pods of 1-6 and are kept distant from other pods, so the maximums being set are generally in line with the most number of fans they could fit under the pod layout.  Increasing the capacity any more than that means they can't maintain socially distant pods.

So if it's determined that, say, 25% is the most people you could possibly have in the stadium while maintaining distance, there's no real justification to do any marginal increases after that.  If enough of the population has been vaccinated to make higher sports attendance possible, you may as well just go back to full capacity at that point.

[Colly]

5 hours ago, Baddar said:

All joking aside, that would be the fairest option of all, if every team got to host a home game with fans. I know some teams have been able to do this already, but this would be an even bigger step towards normality.

Isn't this all kind of ignoring the fact that a number of clubs had fans in before Christmas? If fairness was important surely that shouldn't have happened.

Regardless, I'm in no rush to go back.

[Lineker]

Quote

The Football Association is to look at new formats for football matches and will encourage ground staff to maintain their pitches via an app in a push to do more with less and save the grassroots game.

As participation sports returns next week, a new four-season strategy – Survive, Revive and Thrive – will lay out the FA’s vision for the game post-Covid. Included in £180m of funding is money for pitches, alongside commitments to help clubs with fees and funding for football in deprived communities. But with the game and its governing body suffering financial challenges because of the pandemic, the money will have to work hard.

“I’m convinced that football has a massive role to play in bringing the nation back to its feet by bringing communities together and improving physical and mental health,” said the FA’s director of football development, James Kendall. “Our priority is going to be to help the clubs and the volunteers who run them to survive.”

Financial commitments include £2.5m for clubs to meet their FA affiliation fees this season and next. The FA will also put up £14m for maintaining pitches over the next four years, and improving the quality of 5,000. Alongside the money will be an app, Pitch Power, which will allow ground staff to upload images of their pitches to receive relevant advice from experts.

Another four-year target will be to enable girls to have equal access to the sport, with the strategy stating: “Every young girl wanting to play football should have the opportunity to do so at school or at a local club.”

For boys and men, the key phrase is retention, focusing on the key age points of 12-18, as well as 35 and 55, when they tend to drop out of the game. This means that for younger men games should be “as actively engaging as they can”, Kendall said, with the FA open to exploring new formats which facilitate greater involvement for players, and for shortening the length of 11-a-side matches. At older ages there will be an increased focus on walking football.

“Ultimately grassroots football is a game for everyone,” Kendall said. “It has always been central to what we do at the FA, but perhaps in the past we have been more tactical in our approach. We now want to take a visionary, strategic view over the next four years.”

 

[Baddar]

Quote

The UK's leading sports bodies are backing the use of 'vaccine passports' and Covid testing as a "credible" means of allowing full capacities at venues.

In a joint letter to the leaders of the major political parties, the group said it could "see the benefit" of a certification process "in getting more fans safely back as quickly as possible".

"We know that our stadia can only be fully filled with an assurance process," it added.

However the group also warned that "the final approach must not be discriminatory, should protect privacy, and have clear exit criteria."

Signatories to the letter, which has been seen by the BBC, include the Football Association, the Premier League, the England and Wales Cricket Board, the Rugby Football Union, the All England Tennis Club at Wimbledon and the Silverstone motor-racing circuit.

All of them are suffering an unprecedented financial crisis as a result of being forced to stage events behind closed doors for almost all of the past year.

As part of the government's reopening roadmap, from 17 May in England larger outdoor sports venues will be allowed to operate at up to 25% capacity, with a maximum of 10,000 spectators.

Restrictions will be eased further from 21 June, but with all adults not expected to be offered at least their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine until the end of July, full venues at major sports events are understood to be unlikely until late summer at the earliest.

 

[Lineker]

 

[Baddar]

That'll go down well.

[Lineker]

Quote

The penultimate round of Premier League matches will be pushed back to allow each team to play a home game in front of up to 10,000 fans.

The 37th round of fixtures – originally scheduled to take place over the weekend beginning Saturday, 15 May – will now be played on Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 May, the day after the third stage of the government’s “coronavirus roadmap” is scheduled to begin.

From 17 May lockdown restrictions are set to ease further with larger outdoor venues able to welcome 25% of capacity or 10,000 people, whichever is smaller. Almost as soon as the roadmap was published on 22 February, the league was understood to have concerns over the impact of only the final round of games on 23 May being played in front of fans, and had been working towards rescheduling round 37.

It is undesrtood that the Premier League informed clubs about the decision to switch in an email on Thursday, although it is not expected to confirm the plans until broadcast arrangements are fully in place. The league’s chief executive, Richard Masters, said last month he felt a return to full stadiums for the start of the 2021-22 season in August was “an achievable goal”.

The government hopes sports fans will be able to return to venues in significant numbers from 21 June, and its Event Research Programme is using a series of events as pilots to test the safest and most effective ways to make that happen.

Supporters attending the Carabao Cup final – one of the ERP events – this month will need proof of a negative lateral flow test in order to enter Wembley. The English top flight was one of 10 signatories to a letter sent to political leaders last week endorsing the use of a Covid-19 certification status system whereby proof of vaccination, a recent negative test or antibody immunity must be provided to access a venue.

The league’s executive director, Bill Bush, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The alternative [to certification] is not freedom. The alternative is social distancing, tiny crowds, major restrictions on people’s movement and ability to eat, drink, travel. Away fans banned for example. So to end those restrictions of freedom we believe that something like this is an acceptable burden to give fans the freedom to attend.”

 

[Lineker]