On Thursday, Chelsea, Liverpool and Real Madrid confirmed that 12 players were infected with the new crown in one day, and in the face of a growing epidemic, the Premier League postponed five league games this weekend, but said it would not consider a shutdown. In contrast, La Liga president Tebas said that "the possibility of a suspension of La Liga cannot be ruled out".
Tebas: The possibility of a shutdown is not ruled out
In La Liga, Real Madrid is one of the teams most affected by the epidemic. On Thursday, Real Madrid revealed that after Modric and Marcelo were positive for the new crown, Asensio, Bale, Lunin, Rodrigo and assistant coach David Ancelotti also tested positive for the new crown virus.
According to La Liga rules, as long as the team has more than 14 players to play, then the game will not be postponed. Marca also revealed that despite the absence of many players, Real Madrid has no intention of applying for a postponement of the match against Cádiz.
In the face of the increasingly serious epidemic, La Liga President Tebas said, "We cannot rule out the possibility of a suspension of la Liga matches, and whether to reduce the number of spectators will also be decided according to the specific number of games." ”
9 Premier League games in 5 days were postponed
Compared with La Liga, the impact of the epidemic on the Premier League is even greater. On 13 December, the Premier League announced that a total of 42 players and staff members of clubs were infected with the new crown virus, the highest number of infections in a single week since May 2020, compared with only 12 cases in the previous week. In just 5 days, nine Premier League games have been postponed.
This weekend, southampton v Brentford, Watford v Crystal Palace, West Ham v Norwich, Everton v Leicester City and Manchester United against Brighton have been postponed. If the epidemic in Chelsea and Liverpool is more serious, it is not excluded that Wolves vs Chelsea and Spurs vs. Liverpool will also be postponed.
In addition to the Premier League, 12 games, including Tottenham's Europa League group stage against Rennes, have also been postponed or cancelled. Three Championship matches were also postponed over the weekend.
In terms of postponing matches, the Premier League has clear requirements, as long as the club has more than 14 players to play, the game will not be postponed. On Thursday, the Premier League again said it would "consider a range of factors, including the ability of clubs to use players, the circumstances, severity and potential impact of the outbreak at the club, and the ability of players to prepare safely and perform." ”
Premier League clubs have called for a shutdown
On Thursday, Brentford boss Frick asked for a suspension of all Premier League games this weekend, "The number of confirmed cases at all Premier League clubs is on the rise and all have to face this problem." Postponing this round and the League Cup means that everyone has at least a week or 4 to 5 days to clean up everything on the training ground so you can break the chain of spread. ”
The Premier League's official statement confirmed that United's match against Brighton would be postponed, but also said that "the current match arrangement will continue under safe conditions". In other words, despite the current seriousness of the epidemic, the Premier League is still not considering a shutdown.
However, Sky Sports revealed that in view of the current epidemic, a number of Premier League clubs hope that the Premier League will temporarily suspend and postpone the next four rounds of matches, and then resume matches on January 8 and 9, first playing the FA Cup, and then restarting the Premier League on January 15.
Chelsea and Liverpool were infected with 8 people a day
Chelsea against Everton and Liverpool against Newcastle kick off on time, however, Liverpool's Fabinho, Jones, Van Dijk and Chelsea's Lukaku, Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Chilwell and Havertz were either positive on the new crown test or suspected positive.
It is worth mentioning that Hudson-Odoi has been infected with the new crown virus twice, and in March 2020, Hudson-Odoi was one of the first Premier League players to test positive for the new crown virus. If confirmed positive, Havertz will also be infected with the new crown virus for the second time, the first in November 2020.
In the face of such a dilemma, Tuchel maintained a good mentality, "This is the situation at the moment, we still have a strong team that can compete with other teams. As usual, we focus on the players who can play. ”
Among Premier League teams, Manchester United are one of the most affected. The Sun revealed that United currently have only 7 players to play, which has led to their 2 consecutive games being postponed. According to a Survey by The Sun, 59.4% of fans believe the Premier League should be shut down.
Klopp called for vaccination
After the outbreak became serious again, the Premier League has asked clubs to take urgent measures, including increasing the frequency of testing for players and staff for the new crown virus, wearing masks indoors, observing social distancing, and limiting treatment time.
In addition, the Premier League has also made requirements for fans to enter the game, either with two doses of vaccine or by providing proof that the new crown virus test was negative within 48 hours.
However, Premier League players are not vaccinated fast enough. In October, the Premier League revealed that only 69% of players were vaccinated, and 81% of them were only vaccinated with one dose, which caused media concerns.
Klopp said, "I absolutely support the new measures, we are tested every day and before the game, there is absolutely no problem. Like the whole world, we are absolutely concerned about the outbreak.
We will do our best, and for me, vaccination is a matter of solidarity, loyalty. Everyone working at the training ground has been vaccinated at least twice and will receive booster injections as soon as possible. ”