A group of club doctors has written to the Premier League expressing concern over potential risks to restarting the competition during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Before a crucial period for Project Restart, doctors have raised questions with the league over a number of issues to do with protocols designed to guarantee a safe return to training and, should government advice allow, full competition.
At least one club doctor is known by the Guardian to have serious concerns about the protocols and whether football can be made safe in the near future. The questions were raised by at least four doctors and were sent via the Premier League doctors group to the league’s chief medical adviser, Mark Gillett. The league says the questions were requested as part of a continuing process of refining the protocols.
The measures were first discussed with the 20 top-flight clubs at an extraordinary meeting last Friday. They have not been approved by the clubs, however, and any final drafting is not expected to be complete until after the government makes recommendations on the possible easing of lockdown measures on Sunday.
Some of the doctors’ concerns are expected to be directly addressed in these recommendations, and a vote on the protocols is expected to be taken at a Premier League meeting on Monday.
