IT’S going to be impossible to guarantee player safety — even walking past someone on the street is a risk right now.
Therefore it’s absolutely right the likes of Sergio Aguero have been expressing fears over returning.
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Sergio Aguero is right to be fearful of a return to footballCredit: Getty Images – Getty
If their health cannot be 100 per cent assured then they will absolutely be reluctant to play.
Before they set foot on a pitch for a competitive match then of course the players will want to know that they and their families will be safe.
However, nobody is asking them to play next week, the week after or even in a month’s time.
I honestly don’t know whether football will be back by mid-to-late June or not.
One day I think it will be possible, the next I don’t.
What I do know is that it would be wrong for everyone not to sit down, talk and plan.
Alan Shearer says all avenues to re-start the season need exploringCredit: PA:Press Association
Just like in every other industry, it is only right that the Premier League are looking at every eventuality.
Can we play matches in six or seven weeks’ time? If not, what about in 10 weeks?
It may or may not be possible, but with most people in agreement that the best case scenario is for the season to be finished, every option has to be considered.
If the Government comes out and gives the green light to some small steps to be put in place then it still might not be right to play in June.
Then it might have to be moved back to July.
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But there is only so far you can go before they may have to look at voiding the season.
With my player hat on, I would be desperate to be back out there — but only when it is safe to do so.
Football is not going to go back to what it was like for a long time and until there are vaccines widely available then safety has to be as close to being guaranteed as possible.
In these times we are living in, you cannot even guarantee you will be OK walking down the street or going to buy food at the shop.
Football has to start again at some point in time — and it has to be as safe as humanly possible to do so.
ALL OPTIONS NEED DISCUSSING
German teams have started training again and we saw last week that three FC Cologne staff tested positive for Covid-19.
While not inevitable to happen here, we could well end up facing similar challenges.
The opinions of the players have to be of paramount importance because it’s crucial everyone is aligned to move forward.
If it is deemed safe for them to play, then I am sure they will be happy to.
While we are all missing watching football, they will all be missing playing.
Everyone wants a plan but nobody can possibly have one right now but that does not mean people should not be discussing every option on the table.
Whatever decision is made is invariably going to leave a certain amount of people upset.
DRASTIC SOLUTIONS NEEDED
In an ideal world every club would play their remaining games at the stadiums they are scheduled to do so.
But if that’s not possible, there will have to be some give or take from clubs in terms of playing at neutral venues.
Players being quarantined away in order to complete the season is one thing that is being looked at.
It is hardly ideal but these are unprecedented times that will need drastic solutions if the season is to be finished.
If it isn’t completed, which still looks very possible, then I can’t see how you can give clubs what they may or may not have won.
We all agree Liverpool are going to win the league but would they really want to be handed the title?
As I said, there are going to be clubs left feeling hard done by.
Whether that’s Liverpool not winning the league, Leeds not getting promoted or a team being relegated having had to play their remaining games at a neutral venue, there will be losers to this.
Regardless of the final decision taken, there are going to be so many legal ramifications — whether it’s clubs, players, TV money or sponsors.
That’s one of the negatives that comes with being arguably the most successful league, from a commercial perspective, in the world.
It’s only right that every option and eventuality is being discussed, and that’s what the Premier League are doing.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
