England
The fate of most European football championships is still unclear. In some countries (France, the Netherlands) they decided to finish the season ahead of schedule, while in others they plan to bring it to the end so as not to suffer serious financial losses.
And every day the fans believe more and more in an optimistic scenario. The restrictions introduced due to the coronavirus pandemic are gradually softening, and in Germany and the Czech Republic the players have already started training. However, in England, there is no talk of this yet - players are still forced to content themselves with homework.
Nevertheless, the Premier League clubs during a video conference on May 1 indicated their intention to finish the season. A special statement published on the official website of the Premier League states that the resumption of training is possible only with the approval of the government and after consultation with players and coaches.
A little later, the British media spoke more about the topics that were discussed at this event. In particular, clubs expect that football players will be able to return to training on May 18. In this case, the season may resume on June 12.
At the same time, teams will have to finish playing it at ten neutral stadiums and in empty stands. The arenas chosen to hold the remaining matches will have to be away from densely populated urban areas, and not one of the teams will be able to accept opponents in their own stadium. This idea was not supported by all submarine clubs. For example, Paul Barber, CEO of Brighton & Hove Albion, opposed.
“Naturally, we all must be prepared for some compromises. However, at such a critical moment of the season, holding matches on neutral fields, as it seems to us, can have a serious impact on the integrity and objectivity of the competition, ”said Barber.
In completely equal conditions, the team, apparently, will be able to, if they decide to end the season in another country. For example, a serious discussion was caused by the proposal to hold the ending of the tournament in Australian Perth. He, with the support of a senator from the state of Western Australia, was nominated by the British football agent Gary Williams living in Perth.
“I had negotiations with representatives of the Premier League clubs, they liked the idea. I also spoke with government officials, they are enthusiastic. It's safe here. Authorities lifted many restrictions. We can gather in groups of ten people, walk, and the beaches are already open. Over the past ten days, we have had only four new cases of coronavirus infection, ”the agent quoted The Sun.
Spain
In Spain, unlike England, football players will be able to resume training in the very near future. The authorities allowed the players, subject to a number of restrictions, to start training from May 4.
“I like basketball more than football, but let's hope that he will be back soon. The decision will be made by federations and leagues. We have already begun to allow individual training for team sports. Let's hope for the best, but I'm afraid we will watch the competition on TV first, not in stadiums. Individual training and basic classes for teams from professional leagues will be available from May 4, ”Marca quoted Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as saying.
In Barcelona, they intend to precede the training process with mandatory testing for coronavirus, which will take place no later than May 6. Only after receiving the results of the analyzes, the blue-garnet will begin to study. But athletes will be required to be at a distance of at least two meters from each other. At first, they will also not be able to use the common locker rooms and showers.
At the second stage of training, football players will have the opportunity to engage in small groups, but they are advised to avoid contact with relatives. Finally, in the third stage, players will be able to gather in groups of up to 14 people. In this case, in a favorable epidemiological situation, the interrupted season Examples will resume a month after the start of training, but all matches will be held in empty stands.
Italy
From May 4, football players will be able to resume training in Italy. It is curious that initially the government of the country did not give them such permission. According to the decree, on the first Monday of May, classes could be started only by representatives of individual sports, but not team sports. They were forbidden to appear at the bases until the 18th.
However, Italian Minister of Sports Vincenzo Spadafora, under pressure from regional authorities, was forced to ask the scientific and technical committee under the government to reconsider this verdict. He advocated that the "gamers" also get the opportunity to start individual training at the base of clubs from May 4.
The first Serie A team to announce the resumption of training was Sassuolo. The players of the team will start classes from Monday. However, they, as expected, will be held with significant restrictions. In particular, in the three fields of the center, only six players will be able to engage simultaneously, that is, each will be allocated half of the field. As with Barcelona, locker rooms and gyms will remain closed.
Following the Sassuolo, the resumption of training was announced in Parma and Bologna. In "Roma" plan to start classes from next week. The corresponding permission was given by the city authorities.
L '# ASRoma ringrazia la @RegioneLazio per la sensibilità dimostrata nei confronti degli sport di squadra. Dalla prossima settimana i calciatori potranno svolgere visite mediche e allenamenti individuali a Trigoria, osservando le linee guida relative al distanziamento sociale pic.twitter.com/KDx7kagwlZ
- AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) May 2, 2020Germany
Perhaps the most optimistic situation in terms of a possible resumption of the season has developed in Germany. There, the players started training in April. Matches were supposed to kick off on May 9th. However, at the beginning of the month, bad news came from Cologne, tenth in the Bundesliga standings. Last Thursday, the club tested coronavirus among football players, coaching staff and staff, and COVID-19 was detected immediately in three people.
The club’s official website says that they have no symptoms of the disease, but all three have been quarantined for 14 days. The names of the sick are not reported, however, according to German media, we are talking about two players and a physiotherapist.
It would seem that after this the whole team should go to quarantine, but the players continued their studies as if nothing had happened, which caused confusion among some players, for example, the Belgian Birger Verstrate. He confirmed that the coronavirus was indeed found in two of his partners and a team doctor.
“The club’s message that none of those who have a positive result did not come into contact with the players is true, if taken literally. But after all, that physiotherapist spent weeks doing both me and other players. And on Thursday, one of those two players was my partner at a gym workout. So to say that we had no contact with them would not be entirely correct. It would be naive, both on my part and on the part of others, to say that football events should be resumed as soon as possible, ”says Verstrat Goal.