Premier Leaguue: Football resuming is a fight ‘money vs. health,’ said the club’s former doctor

Just before the resumption of the Premier League season, Patrick Vallance, Chief Scientific Adviser for the British government, said at the daily coronavirus briefing that the number of new cases was around 8,000 per day.

“That’s not a low number,” Vallance said.

Some famous players, including Troy Deeney, Sergio Aguero and N’Golo Kante, all expressed concern to return to action when there was still much uncertainty and so much about the virus that remains unknown.

“I can imagine as a player, I would be very worried about going back,” said Dr. Rogers. “Especially because there is so much about this coronavirus [we don’t know] and people are dying. I fully understand that.

“What we know about this virus is we have to do remote socialization. You can’t even get into Waitrose [supermarket] without a distance of six feet, so unless they change the rules of football, it might be a little too early, “added Dr. Rogers.

“This virus is indiscriminate, it will attack anyone.”

But the league’s return is in line with the gradual reopening for the rest of the British economy; Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced earlier this week that all non-essential shops will reopen from mid-June.

Rogers said this was a case of “money vs. health” – and at the moment, money seems to be winning.

“This is bigger than just football,” Dr. Rogers. “We have to follow the virus. That’s the problem. This virus will determine what we do in society and unless they change the rules in football, don’t handle, don’t head the ball together … it contacts sports and people get very close to one to each other.

“So there is a great opportunity, a great opportunity for this virus to spread through football and if it were not for the amount of money in football, I didn’t know that we would have this conversation, which, I think, is really the problem that underlies all this.

“We all want football because it is very attractive to the community. It’s fun, it’s a small layer for how we live, it’s entertainment. But how much does it cost?”

The Premier League was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNN.

More than a week ago, Deeney estimated that “65% to 75%” players were worried about upcoming contact training and that number was “even higher” for those who thought this season would not be continued.

Deeney said improved communication with the Premier League had been a factor, but added there was also an element of resignation that the players could no longer prevent the league from restarting.

“I really think a lot of players must come to the conclusion that it happened,” he told CNN. “There is [a sense of]: “We can’t stop it.”

“In the end, everyone knows this is happening, the season is over and you control what can be controlled, what we have to do.”

Fear of player BAME

Even when removing socioeconomic factors, statistics find that they are still almost twice as likely to die from Covid-19. The reason why remains unclear.

When it was first announced that Premier League clubs would return to training, Deeney was one of a number of black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) players who expressed concern about the statistics, thus asking the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) to ask Premier League to carry out further research into numbers.

“It is fair to recognize that there is an increased risk in the BAME group,” Dr. Mark Gillett, Chief Medical Advisor of the Premier League, at a recent briefing.

“In mitigating that the risk to fit young athletes is still very, very small and I think that is an important factor. I return to the fact that we are trying to create the safest work environment we can for these people.

“I’m glad we have mitigated all the risks that we can understand at this time and then when more information is available, we will do everything we can to mitigate that too. We will definitely move with him in real time as more information is available. “

Deeney also praised the way the Premier League has handled its worries since he first spoke.

Captain Watford said he had now had “four or five” meetings with the league and had also spoken with Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer of the British government, who had removed some of his fears.

Deeney said he was aware that as a professional soccer player, even one from BAME’s background, the risk of him suffering from serious health problems because Covid-19 was very low.

However, the risk of passing it on to friends and family is what worries him the most; Deeney has a five-month-old son who was born prematurely and has difficulty breathing.

“When I talk about black players, it’s not necessarily me, it’s if we go home to mom, dad,” he said. “We have a player on our team who lives with his parents and his grandparents lives with him, and he’s from [minority] ethnicity.

“So not only is he at risk, but then going home he puts people who are definitely in the higher risk category [in danger]. “

After lengthy talks with the Premier League and Van-Tam, Deeney said some of the effects of Covid-19’s improved health were due to cultural behavior towards disease.

“Black people don’t go to the doctor very often,” he explained. “We will wait until the last minute, we get symptoms but we don’t have to go straight to the doctor, we will try and wait a little.

“Economically too, depending on where you come from and the area where you live, all of which can hit but, in the end, they will say to soccer players that we are not included in that category.

“But that’s also a bigger picture of our family and it’s more important to me than a few pounds in our back pockets.”

Coronavirus fee

Apart from the multi-million dollar salary, transfer fees, and billion-dollar broadcast deal, the football industry has also felt the financial impact of the corona virus.

Dr Rogers said he had spoken privately with fellow medical professionals and most agreed on the reasons why football was trying desperately for the current campaign to resume.

“The same thing I said, it’s all about money,” he said. “I don’t want to say it so clearly, but people want this to be open, you know, this is business. My colleagues, people I know in sports medicine basically say that we have to take care of the health of the players .

“One of the jobs that I do is in emergency care and I can remember the first weeks of work, I’m afraid, I’m not afraid to say I’m afraid. I can’t say I’m not too scared but I’m trying to put it in the back of my mind now and continue my work but this is serious.

“This is a very serious virus and people who are not in the medical field must be afraid. This is football, this is a game. I realize it is business but in the end, it is a game and there are more important things than football. – I hate to say it even though I’m a football fan, but people are dying here. “

Nearly 100,000 jobs in the UK are supported by the league and almost all of them will feel the economic impact of this pandemic, but it is not the high-paid players or coaches who are most affected.

“Think about the people who clean the booths, think about the people who sell hot dogs, there are very few reasons why football is so important in this economy, and you begin to see how important that is,” Rogers said.

“This is a business so they want to start again but, again, I really understand the players’ concerns. There will be opportunities for people to touch each other for close contact and opportunities for people to transmit this virus.”

Despite ongoing concerns about player safety, the Premier League will return on June 17 – and seeing the German Bundesliga, which has now entered its third-round match since returning, will give hope that it can be done safely.