Shirt swapping,team celebrations and spitting will be banned when Premier League football returns from the coronavirus blackout, it’s been claimed.
The Premier League is pushing ahead with plans to resume matches on June 12 in a bid to finish the season and avoid financial meltdown.
According to the Telegraph, strict sanctions will be in place in a bid to prevent any new coronavirus cases among players.
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Aside spitting, swapping of shirts and team celebrations, stars will also be prohibited from sharing water bottles under measures to get football back under way.
The new rules could be in place for up to 12 months as football chiefs desperately try to finish the season.
On Sunday, the prime minister, Boris Johnson, is expected to announce the easing of lockdown restrictions which the Prem hopes will be the first step on the road to sport returning.
A meeting is planned next week between the Premier League and the captains’ group to discuss detailed plans for the resumption of matches and training where the new rules will also apply.
Club doctors have previously expressed fears about a return and these measures are said to be vital to any comeback.
SunSport also exclusively revealed nine Premier League clubs are ready to let stars duck out of Project Restart over concerns they will infect vulnerable loved ones.
SunSport has discovered almost half of the 20 Premier League sides now accept it is impossible to force stars back into action if they fear falling ill or infecting their family with coronavirus.
The growing list includes teams fighting it out at both ends of the table — as club bosses finally start listening to players, who are scared about being rushed into scenarios they feel are unsafe.
One source said: “If someone has a partner who’s pregnant, or close family who has cancer, how can we force them to play in those circumstances?”
5 Comments
Ban spitting? Can they do that? Is it possible? I really don’t think so. Spitting is an involuntary action that occurs during rigorous /extreme sports, its an involuntary way of easing off stress and aid recuperation after expending energy. Almost every player would be sanctioned if it is enforced.
My brother I tire ooo…Been a Medical practitioner, i was so mad at this Confused lawmakers in England. Didn’t they consult Sport Physiologist there before coming to this conclusion. You just can’t avoid spitting when you run all over the pitch. If the players keep swallowing the spits and they open their mouths while running (as expected), the air that keeps on blowing into there Nasal Cavity causes there throats to feel cold often and also causes tightening of there throat thereby leading to Coughing and water coming out of there eyes frequently. How will they be focused in the match??
Bro femi, it’s funny that these people who claim to sabi everything can come up with this kinda absurd idea. Preventing athletes from spitting is like preventing them from breathing. This won’t stand, I’m very sure about that. Its definitely gonna be reviewed.
In a no-holds-barred interview with Nigerian television station Plus TV Africa monitored by allnigeriasoccer.com, legendary Nigeria winger Segun Odegbami strongly criticized the decision of the Nigeria Football Federation to give a new contract to Gernot Rohr.
The Franco-German football tactician is on the verge of inking a new deal with the NFF amidst all the conditions laid out in the proposed deal, including living in Nigeria to monitor potential Super Eagles players in the domestic championship and being paid in the local currency.
“I don’t know about the plot to send him packing, I have been an advocate of the end of foreign coaches in Nigerian football and I stand by that,” said Odegbami.
“It is very insensitive of people at this time in our history considering where we are now with the coronavirus opening our eyes to the new realities of the world for us to continue to go back to something that has failed us.”
The highlight of Odegbami’s interview was when he revealed that English-based scout of Nigerian descent, Tunde Adelakun was the one doing most of the job assigned to Rohr.
Adelakun has often been sighted at English Premier League match venues monitoring players of Nigerian descent with a view to a call-up to the national team.
“Gernot Rohr didn’t succeed, he took all that money, didn’t spend his time in this country.
“A black young Nigerian man, Tunde Adelakun was the one doing all the job, combing the whole of Europe to look for players and all Gernot Rohr was doing was spending few days to assemble players and play matches.
“Besides that his scoreline is not anything that Nigerians have not done before so we must put an end to this slavery and colonial mentality,” Odegbami added.
The 1980 Africa Cup of Nations winner concluded by saying that an indigenous coach should be in charge of the Super Eagles
“Nigerians at this point have to look inwards, everything around us shows that these people out there don’t love us so they can’t love our country more than us.
“We have Nigerians who can do the job, they have always done the job and they can still do the job.
“Gernot Rohr, we have no business discussing with him, his contract expires in June, he should just go quietly.”
Spitting should be reviewed. It’s not possible.