A THIRD Brighton star has tested positive for the deadly coronavirus, sparking the club’s CEO to beg the Premier League to scrap the “life endangering” Project Restart.
Paul Barber has issued a fresh warning over hopes of a June 12 restart and insists one misstep could “ruin lives”.
Credit: PA:Press Association
Brighton chief executive Paul Barber believes neutral venues could end up costing lives
The Seagulls confirmed on Sunday that another member of their playing staff had contracted the killer virus just over a week before Prem sides were hoping to return to group training.
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It comes after the club revealed previous positive tests on March 26 and April 2.
CEO Paul Barber told Sky Sports News on Sunday: “Despite all of the measures that we’ve been taking over the past few weeks, where the players haven’t been involved in any significant training at all, we’ve still suffered another player testing positive for the virus.”
Worried top-flight chiefs are trying to find ways of playing the final 92 games of the Premier League in England — with a neutral venue masterplan in place – but Barber believes players’ lives will be on the line.
The possible venues are expected to be discussed in a meeting of the 20 clubs on Monday, while other options for restarting the season have even involved the possibility of playing games overseas.
Brighton are among six teams who do not want to continue the campaign at neutral venues and Barber has expressed concerns in terms of the loss of their home advantage.
But he also made a strong argument to the Daily Mail that the move to neutral venues could seriously threaten the health and safety of players than if matches were played home and away behind closed doors.
He said: “Normally what happens with the medics is that the medics of the visiting team will rely on the medics of the home team to guide them in the event of a major medical problem on the pitch,
“Where are the defibrillators? Where are the medical emergency rooms? Where is the nearest point for the ambulance exit?
“In the situation that is being proposed, we would be pushing two teams into a venue they are not familiar with, where the home medics wouldn’t exist because they would be somewhere else in the country with their team.
“That is totally illogical to the point of being dangerous.
“We have got to be careful that we do not misstep here because if we do misstep, it could ruin lives. It could cost lives and it could ruin lives. And we cannot afford that. We just can’t.”
The grounds, all of which will be current Premier League stadiums, will be revealed within the next two weeks.
Watford, West Ham, Bournemouth, Norwich and Aston Villa are also thought to be against the remaining matches played at neutral venues.
It is understood that 14 out of 20 clubs must agree on a decision before it is officially put into place – with a vote scheduled for Monday.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson claimed even behind-closed-doors matches at neutral venues increase the risk of escalating coronavirus.
SunSport revealed last week how over half the teams in the division had made it clear they would not force their players to turn out if they were worried for themselves or their family.
And we have now learned that one top-flight boss has discovered five of his first-teamers do not want to be involved.
Players that have returned to training are required to follow a strict list of rules, which include wearing snoods and no spitting.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
