TOM CLARKE believes he is the ONLY pro English footballer in the world who has played throughout the coronavirus crisis.
The game has shut down around the globe and several Premier League stars are against ‘Project Restart’ amid fears for their own safety.
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Tom Clarke is an English footballer who plays professionally in Taiwan
Tom Clarke regularly shows off his chiselled physique to his 14,000 plus Instagram followersCredit: Instagram / @tomadamclarke316
But for Clarke, and Taiwan, the virus is proving no barrier with matches being played behind closed doors and shown on TV.
The only difference is pre-match handshakes have been replaced by elbow bumps.
Clarke, 31, is currently playing a pre-season tournament before starting the second tier with Inter Taoyuan in July.
And even though it feels “weird” to be on the pitch, the one-time junior team-mate of Everton’s Mason Holgate insists any thought of social distancing has gone out of the window.
Speaking from Taiwan — where he also works as a model and actor — Clarke said: “I’m the only English player playing pro here, possibly the only one in the world right now.
“It does feel weird. I feel very grateful that while everyone else in the world has been restricted to what they can do, we have had next to zero restrictions. Training’s continued, same as games, too.
“The difference is someone now checks our temperature as we enter the training ground and handshakes have been minimised to more like an elbow bump for most people.
“But there’s never been any nerves. I play with full commitment as any other professional does.
“You just think about the job in hand, how we are going to achieve the result together and fight as hard as you can. Anyone who doesn’t will be taken off the field.
“Games are being played behind closed doors. But, to be honest, it doesn’t feel much different because we play in huge stadiums — one with 20,000 and one with 55,000 seats.
“Taiwanese football fans aren’t enough to fill those stadiums anyway.”
Taiwan has suffered only six deaths from Covid-19, and along with Nicaragua, Belarus and Tajikistan, was one of only four leagues across the globe to play on.
Striker Clarke began life as a semi-pro player from Doncaster, before spells in Australia and the Philippines led to a move to Taiwan.
And he believes Taiwan can be a shining example to Leagues One and Two — currently threatened with financial ruin.
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Tom Clarke supplements his work as a footballer in Taiwan with modelling and actingCredit: Instagram / @tomadamclarke316
He added: “Here we are playing behind closed doors, so perhaps it would be a great start with that in the English Premier League and divisions below.
“In Taiwan there has been no social distancing unless someone has entered Taiwan from another country.
“There’s no lockdown and life has continued pretty close to normal.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
