“Matches without spectators - fake football”: ex-Spartak doctor about coronavirus in RPL and compliance with recommendations on the field

-  Immediately  in several RPL clubs, cases of coronavirus in football players were recorded, and every day their number is growing. Do not you think that the decision to resume the championship on June 21 was premature?

- I believe that the RPL will be very difficult to resume the season on the established date. Teams just return to training, begin to prepare. However, some players get sick. It’s good if the person was checked and the virus was found, but in a good way all commands should be quarantined.

-Foreign players are required to stay in self-isolation for two weeks, while only three and a half are actually assigned to training. Will they manage to get the desired shape?

- One can only guess. It’s also good that only eight rounds are planned and the players will have less opportunity to get injured. In general, two to three weeks of preparation for the first matches are necessary, but team conditions will be far from ideal.

- Should foreign coaches and their assistants limit their interaction with teams before the quarantine expires?

- Yes, it is more logical for teams to work without them. If there is danger, it is better to follow the instructions. It is clear that each base has its own number. But the team is used to doing everything together: train, relax, eat in the dining room. This is a single team, which together with the staff totals 50-60 people. And if you want, you don’t want, but people are forced to intersect.

-  In what condition will those who fell ill in the last week approach the resumption of the season ?

- These guys definitely will not have time to get in shape. First, they need to get rid of the effects of the virus. And after they need at least a week to start classes and return to duty. And this is provided that a person is fine with immunity. Nevertheless, no one will be able to approach the matches on June 21 in perfect shape after an illness.

-  Those who have already been ill  and left quarantine, can be dangerous for partners?

- I will explain by the example of Roman Zobnin. Once he found antibodies, the infection was already in his body and he coped. But still, there was a risk of transmission of the virus, so he did the right thing by observing quarantine before starting training. I hope the doctors made him a CT scan and were convinced of a complete recovery.

-  How can clubs conduct training if one of the players becomes ill after the resumption of the season? After all, then at least the entire team will have to be quarantined.

- Each person needs at least two to three weeks to fully recover. In this case, it is already impossible to train, let alone play. Initially, it was planned that the season would end at the end of July, but if it “blazes” again, it is not clear when the next one starts. If people want to maintain the health of football players, then the championship will have to be interrupted.

- Does it make sense in the recommendations for training, according to which the players during the exercises should stay apart at a distance of two meters?

“I have no idea how to translate this into reality.” After all, contacts on the field cannot be avoided, while fighting for the ball, players will still be closer. When people go to the pharmacy or the store, it’s clear how to calculate these two meters in the queue, and during the match there will be no person who will measure the distance between the players. In addition, on the field during the match, all these recommendations are forgotten.

- And how much does it make sense to use masks during the training process?

“They can be worn.” But the situation is this: through medical masks it’s not very difficult to breathe, but they are too thin and need to be constantly changed. Given that dirt and moisture accumulate, they should be changed every 10-15 minutes.

- It is also recommended to exclude handshakes and hugs, but, as the example of Germany shows, not all players remember this. Is it fair to somehow punish such manifestations of emotions?

- It seems to me that athletes in any case will forget about it, since the players' attention is focused on what is happening. Therefore, I believe that players should wear gloves to minimize contact and not endanger themselves so much. It’s clear that this is very difficult, as your hands will sweat and a person will feel as if in a bath.

“But gloves cannot protect the whole hand.”

- You can, of course, go out in long-sleeved T-shirts, like in autumn or winter games ...One way or another, on the field during the game, players may not remember the recommendations.

- Many people ask why in the wall the players are close to each other and are in contact on the field, but they should not hug while celebrating goals. Does it not seem that in this case all the recommended measures become meaningless?

“Of course, it's all useless.” On the street, a person will monitor whether he concerns other people, but on the field of thought only about football.

- How to  reduce the risk of infection during matches?

- I can’t imagine what else can be done. Unless spectators are allowed in the stands. And in the field itself how to influence the situation? In masks and gloves, for example, try to play, but it's hard. Naturally, it’s better not to touch each other once again, if possible.

- You touched on the topic of holding games without fans. Will this affect football players?

- Matches without spectators are no longer real football. And the lack of surroundings will affect athletes from a psychological point of view. They will give all the best to 70 percent of their capabilities. When there are fans, the emotions are completely different.

- If Rospotrebnadzor does not accept recommendations for observing the rules of training, is it worth the RPL again to think about the early end of the season?

- It seems to me that it is worth completing now. No need to train. One cannot say with certainty when it is worth starting to prepare for the new season. At the moment, we see large numbers of cases. Therefore, no one can give guarantees when it becomes safe enough. If in the near future the number of infected people will rapidly decrease, and people will be able to return to everyday life, then this is worth stuttering about. Four months have passed since the beginning of the epidemic in China, but even there they are not yet ready for the opening of schools and shopping centers. Only industrial enterprises are open, as well as parks and museums, but with restrictions.

- When is it better to start thinking about holding the Russian championship?

- If I understand everything correctly, then it will be possible to return to normal life only in mid-June. Then it will be necessary to look at the number of cases, and then make predictions about football.