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Marcelo Medeiros, president of Internacional, said the club is ready to resume training and is in favor of playing again, if public authorities support it. In an interview with Guaíba radio, the director continued saying that if any player does not want to act during the new coronavirus pandemic, they can resign.
The decree of the Porto Alegre City Council authorized the return of the training, with a distance of two meters and without agglomeration. Inter and Grêmio scheduled activities for Monday (4).
“I am sure that everyone wants to work. Another problem that we are facing now is the economic issue. A player who does not want to play can resign. If the possibility of football returning opens up, he will fulfill the contract he signed,” said Marcelo Medeiros.
The president of Internacional is the first to adopt a harsher speech towards players during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In another part of the interview, the director of Internacional argued the number of people involved in the daily life of soccer and the impact on the economy.
“Soccer is much more than a game. It is a source of income, it generates employment, it is part of our culture,” said the club’s president in Rio Grande do Sul.
The Ministry of Health sent the opinion in response to a request from the CBF, which sent a health and safety protocol for the return. The document prepared in Brasilia affirms that sport is “relevant in the Brazilian context and that its resumption can contribute to measures to reduce social displacement through the ‘transmission’ of games at home,” but it requires some measures from the entity, mainly regarding evidence of those involved.
São Paulo, the state most affected by the new coronavirus pandemic, has many obstacles to its return. Governor João Doria (PSDB) has adopted more restrictive measures of social isolation, which will last until May 10 and will be discussed again on the 8th. However, the increase in the number of deaths and daily infections should delay the discussion about reopening, and there is the possibility of taking even more restrictive measures.
The São Paulo Football Federation awaits this position to define the next steps. Meanwhile, he is working on a health and safety protocol together with a committee of doctors led by Moisés Cohen. Doctors have met with club officials to develop protocols for evaluating athletes and discussing logistical issues.
The clubs, in turn, have maintained remote training, by video for athletes, and still do not have a schedule to return to face-to-face activities. São Paulo, Corinthians, Santos and Palmeiras have adopted the discourse of prioritizing the health of the players and have avoided any movement to accelerate the return. Behind the scenes, some of them make logistical preparations, such as buying them and planning the return of athletes who are abroad, but the position is to await the release of state authorities.
