West Ham chief executive Karren Brady has claimed football is no closer to returning than when coronavirus initially forced lockdown despite reports that the Premier League is aiming to restart by June.
Fresh talks took place on Friday between the 20 Premier League clubs with the priority still to complete the season, though “at this stage all dates are tentative while the impact of Covid-19 develops”.
Most clubs still have nine games left to play, with reports suggesting discussions included attempting to conclude the campaign within a 40-day window, while there are also claims that clubs were told that domestic seasons must end by 31 July with the 2020-21 campaign starting at the latest by the first week of September.
Brady has now offered her insight on the matter, highlighting a lack of clarity over complications surrounding training, testing of players, hygiene and medical protocols.
The lockdown is in place until 7 May at the earliest but Brady fears the ability of teams to train could be compromised afterwards.
Writing in her column in The Sun, Brady 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 metres away.
“So, how match-fit will players be if the season commences, as we all hope it will, by mid-June?”
Brady questioned how Premier League clubs could regularly test players for coronavirus when the same situation is not yet in place for all NHS workers, and highlighted a potential unfairness in some squads having a number of players in self-isolation.
She added: “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.
“Then there is the issue of injuries. 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 and private hospitals are carrying out NHS procedures and not taking in injured footballers. So then what?”
PA contributed to this report
