EPL clubs could play at home after police soften stance

By: Rob Harris, The Associated Press Posted: 9:00 AM CDT Monday, May. 11, 2020 Last Modified: 1:48 PM CDT Tuesday, May. 12, 2020

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MANCHESTER, England - Premier League clubs could be allowed to complete the season at their own stadiums after police pulled back on their insistence that neutral venues were the only safe way of staging games during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/05/2020 (2335 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MANCHESTER, England – Premier League clubs could be allowed to complete the season at their own stadiums after police pulled back on their insistence that neutral venues were the only safe way of staging games during the coronavirus pandemic.

The league’s leadership held talks with police on Monday night after being told by the 20 clubs that they wanted to be able to play at home, even though fans will not be allowed inside.

Mark Roberts, the head of football policing in England, had been concerned supporters would still gather outside stadiums and place an additional burden on resources as lockdown measures are eased.

FILE - In this Sunday, May 6, 2018 file photo, the English Premier League trophy is displayed on the pitch prior to the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Huddersfield Town at Etihad stadium in Manchester, England. Steve Parish, the chairman of Crystal Palace, says the Premier League could face years of legal challenges if this season is not completed due to the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira, File)

But Roberts has softened his stance after “positive” talks with the league and government.

“We will be jointly exploring a range of options to identify a way forward, which minimizes any risks to public safety and unnecessary pressure on public services, but facilitates a sensible restart to the season, to support the economic and morale benefits associated with the sport,” Roberts said.

But, with hundreds of people still dying from the virus each day, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said 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.”

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 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.

In this photo issued by 10 Downing Street on Sunday, May 10, 2020, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivers an address on lifting the country's lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. Johnson announced a modest easing of the country’s coronavirus lockdown and outlined his government’s road map for further lifting restrictions in the coming months. In a televised address to the nation, Johnson said people in Britain who can’t work from home, such as those in construction or manufacturing jobs, “should be actively encouraged to go to work” this week. (Andrew Parsons/10 Downing Street via AP)

“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 layoff.

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

Masters said players will be consulted about how a safe environment can be created at training and then games.

“It is right that they will have concerns and questions and we need to hear those first,” Masters said.

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.

“Until then, I’m … kind of reserved and thinking what the worst outcome could be, but at the same time looking forward to it.”

FILE - This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the virus causes COVID-19. A new type of coronavirus test offers a cheaper, quicker way to screen for infections, moving the U.S. toward the kind of mass screening that experts say is essential to returning millions of Americans to school and work. But the first so-called antigen test _ announced Saturday, may 9, 2020 by the Food and Drug Administration _ is not quite the kind sought by top government health officials. It is less accurate than the current gold standard for testing and can only be run on specialized equipment. (NIAID-RML via AP)

Players and coaches will be regularly tested for COVID-19 at training venues. Masters does not believe full squads would have to self-isolate if there is a situation like at Dynamo Dresden last week. Two players at the German second-division side tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing the entire squad, coaching and supervisory staff to enter 14 days of quarantine at home.

“If a player tests positive,” Masters said, “providing he has been socially distanced in the protocols, he would be isolated for a period but there would be no need for the rest of the group to be.”

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