West Bromwich Albion boss Valerien Ismael has responded to Callum Robinson's recent admission that he is not yet vaccinated against Covid-19.
The Republic of Ireland forward admitted last week that he has refused the jab, and Ismael has clarified that he respects the stance of his players when it comes to vaccination.
Ismael has indicated that receiving the vaccine is a personal choice, but he reasons that there are more positive aspects to the treatment than negative side effects.
“The first thing to say is it’s a personal choice,” Ismael said. “We can’t force anyone to take the vaccine and we need to respect the position of each person and not stigmatise him or make him look bad.
“He has the right to take his decision. The only thing I can say is that I am fully vaccinated and the club provided early this week vaccination possibility for the players so the majority of our players are vaccinated now.
“When you are a public person and you work as a football team you need to make sure that you protect yourself, protect your team-mates and protect your family because every day we are in contact with a lot of people and at the moment the only we can protect ourselves is to get the vaccine.
“That’s my own thought on this. We try to speak with the players all the time to make the players aware how important it is.
“The only way to do that is to get the vaccination and get the communication with the players. The majority of our players are vaccinated and I think that will follow in the Premier League.
“Otherwise I respect the decision and I can understand one person saying they don’t want it, but I took my decision because it’s more positive than negative.”
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