What if the players don’t want to play? – NRK Sport – Sports news, results and schedule

Birger Verstraete is not the biggest star in European football, but he ended up in the newsroom this weekend for saying something controversial.

“I want everyone to be healthy before playing soccer again,” he said. VTM.

Belgian Verstraete plays for Cologne, a team from the upper German division, which could be the first major league in Europe to start again. All leagues have been suspended since March, but according to the Bundesliga Reuters start again on May 15.

Loading was not perfect. On Friday two players and a physical therapist in Cologne tested positive for the crown. Only the infected were isolated, while the rest of the team continued training.

Verstraete said it was strange that the entire stable was not quarantined, calling the Bundesliga “irresponsible”. Even Verstraete is unlikely to die from the virus. But his girlfriend has had heart problems and is at risk.

“I can’t say I’m focused on soccer,” said Verstraete.

Terror and “madness”

Verstraete is not alone in worrying. While some players struggle to get started, others live where infection can have major consequences.

– Most of the players are scared. They have families. They have children, babies and parents, Manchester City star Sergio Agüero told the television show. The beach bar.

“It’s crazy to start again before I find a shot,” said Manuel Lanzini, creator of West Ham games. Continental Radio Tuesday.

One would think that such statements would prevent the return of football. After all, it’s the players who are at the center. But they are not control S football.

And the interests behind a startup are enormous.

The leagues will return

Across Europe, clubs struggle to survive. Bundesliga general manager Christian Seifert has said that if the season is not completed, it will cost clubs around NOK 8.4 billion in lost money on TV. Half of the German Second Division teams can go bankrupt.

The best series in Spain and England will lose even more. Both have plans to restart in June.

A quick start will be good news for clubs (who get the money from television), leagues (who complete the seasons), UEFA (who can start their tournaments again) and television companies (who can get football back. on the screen).

Leagues can also say that they have the authorities on their side. The most important league in Spain received government approval, and in Germany, as mentioned, approval is expected by Wednesday, May 15.

So those players who are skeptical about playing again aren’t exactly part of the majority.

But that doesn’t mean they don’t have a point.

There is a risk

After all, no one knows if the Bundesliga has reason to start again.

Last week, the French government canceled all sporting events until September, which was the hook for Ligue 1. The Dutch league has been canceled. The same can happen to Belgium.

Television money in the Netherlands and Belgium is worth much less than in countries like Germany and England.

The Bundesliga plans to systematically test the players, but they have just started. When they tested more than 1,700 player tests in the two main divisions last weekend, 10 were positive, they published. DFL. None of the 10 should have shown symptoms. And there is constantly news of various positive tests.

Players are going through a lot before the seasons are over. In the Premier League, 92 matches will be played in 20 stadiums across the country. Players must travel and train intensively for at least two months. They must face and mark closely.

This will happen in a country where people are encouraged to keep a distance of two meters.

Will the tests work? There are no guarantees The most outstanding doctor of FIFA, Michel d’Hooghe, has said BBC who is skeptical that football will start again.

“There is a risk and the consequences are not small,” said D’Hooghe.

Will not put the family at risk

And as long as there is a risk, you can understand the doubting players.

That they risk their own health is bad enough. It cannot be ruled out that some of them have underlying health problems. Few professional players have died on the field, but it has happened.

Still, it’s the danger of infecting family members that seems to worry players the most.

Bournemouth defender Simon Francis has said The times Three or four of the team’s players have family members with health problems. James Chester, advocate of Rotherham, wrote for The athletic this week he has a pregnant wife and one year old boy.

“I won’t put them in danger if we start playing again,” Chester wrote.

And in Spanish Eibar, the players and coaches have come out with a joint statement that they are scared, reports AP.

“We are concerned that by doing what we love the most we can infect ourselves, infect our families and friends, and contribute to a new flourishing of the epidemic, with the dire consequences this will have for the population,” the statement said Tuesday by the night.

For more players, like Chelsea stopper Antonio Rüdiger, he also sees a bigger picture.

“If we continue to play despite the fact that it is dangerous and we ignore people who die around the world, then I don’t know if there is anything that my conscience can accept,” he said. ZDF.

It should reassure the players.

Perhaps some fans laugh at such statements. The best players earn $ 4 million a week; they just needed to work for the money. Perhaps some clubs say the same thing.

But behind the facade, soccer players are ordinary people with families. Also, almost everyone earns four million a week. Europe’s top leagues will set the tone for the lower divisions, where players earn far less.

There is a clear danger that many will be pressured to play, even if they don’t. The times He writes that the UK government will meet with medical experts and administrators from various sports to find measures to reassure players. They will fight to convince everyone.

And what if a team struggling against relegation is told that the point of the star is afraid to play?

When Verstraete expressed their opinion, Cologne published a case in which they corrected some of the statements and said that the decision not to quarantine it had been made by the local health authorities.

The case included quotes from Verstraete, who said “emotions” had taken hold and that he should consult the club doctor before saying anything. However, the incident showed that Verstraete was concerned and that his girlfriend had gone to Belgium.

When the virus broke out in Europe and several major leagues hesitated to stop games, football was accused of putting money ahead of health.

This is becoming a new example.