If sport is a reflection of society then these times are absurd.
The resumption of elite football begins in the UK on Wednesday when Aston Villa entertain Sheffield United.
As part of the protocols put in place by the Premier League to guarantee player safety there’ll be no shaking of hands, no sharing of water bottles, and stadiums will be divided into restricted access red, amber and green zones. Also no more spitting is allowed – which is not a bad thing, seeing an end to the footballer close-up gobbing on the pitch that moments later they’ll perform a sliding challenge over.
There are a lot of conflicting and absurd decisions being made in bringing back football. These decisions rally against societal protocols put in place to protect the nation from coronavirus.
Since March the general public were told to stay at home. While this restriction has been eased there is still the recommendation to remain in your local area to prevent the spread of covid-19, yet footballers are being made to travel up and down the country in an effort to complete the remaining 92 EPL fixtures.
A contingent of player’s have voiced their concerns about returning to the pitch with Watford’s captain and a member of the BAME community Troy Deeney particularly vocal about fears for his and his family’s health while Manchester City’s record goalscorer Sergio Aguero was quoted as saying he was “scared” to play football at the present time.
There are a lot of conflicting and absurd decisions being made in bringing back football. Since March the general public were told to stay at home, yet footballers are being made to travel up and down the country in an effort to complete the remaining 92 EPL fixtures.
Some bizarre safety precautions are being put in place to host top-flight football matches. Under Premier League guidelines corner flags and balls will be disinfected during the game. Between Mo Salah passing the ball to Roberto Firminho, both having been tested multiple times before stepping on the pitch and with every stitch and panel of the ball having been vigorously cleaned before kick-off, is there really need to stop play and disinfect everything that has been disinfected and tested already to make sure the ball didn’t catch coronavirus halfway through Salah’s pass to his teammate?
But no matter how we look at it football is back. The league will be brought to an end and Liverpool will get the chance to be crowned champions, and let us add deservedly so – denying Liverpool the title, being only a win from becoming champions of England for the first time in three decades would have been the harshest of coronavirus sporting punishments.
The public patience is wearing thin being asked to remain at home. The resumption of football will relieve some of the national boredom and reinvigorate spirits for a massive portion of the country – the football loving demographic – by bringing back the ecstasy, heartache and escapism that comes with the beautiful game.
“Denying Liverpool the title, being only a win from becoming champions of England for the first time in three decades would have been the harshest of coronavirus sporting punishments.”
Life needs to return to normal at some point and these tentative steps taken by the Premier League are the first demonstration of how sporting organisations can return to their event calenders. And for the lower leagues, they may sometimes imitate the antics, diving and play acting that goes on at elite level, but now they’re going to get an opportunity to see how football can be played in a way that keeps everyone safe.
It’s absurd at how deadly this virus can be. It’s absurd at thinking that the country has been literally stopped in its tracks in recent months. It’s absurd to tell everyone to stay in their local community while a group of footballers have to travel the length of the country to finish the football season.
But it’s also absurd to deny Liverpool winning the Premier League when they are so clearly going to become eventual champions for the first time in 29 years. It’s absurd that we’ve had to endure denying ourselves the joy, excitement and fulfilment that live sport brings, and it’s absurd the extent to which we’re willing to go to bring it back, even if it means watching the game locked at home looking up from Zoom conversations with fellow supporters when an explosion sound effect goes off as our team scores a goal.
Harry Jamshid Reporter Sports Pages 