La Liga’s ethical testing issue, Covid-19 waivers and Barcelona’s call for safety guarantees & fears footballs can infect

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La Liga restart plans

In the latest edition of the BBC’s 5 Live Euro Leagues podcast, Spanish reporter Guillem Balague has dug into the timetable and issues surrounding the restart of La Liga.

There’s still no exact date set for when La Liga could resume.

Instead, as reported last weekend by the New York Times, La Liga has issued a 23-page document laying out the framework for football returning.

A central issue is regular testing for all players, coaches and others who will need to attend games, plus the enforcement of continued social distancing measures.

 

La Liga restart threatened by ethical testing issue

The New York Times noted that La Liga want “daily tests for coronavirus” for all those involved.

Guillem Balague confirmed that La Liga have already bought up enough testing kits to satisfy that requirement

However, just because La Liga have the kits, that’s not the end of the matter. Instead, some clubs are concerned with the moral and ethical issues of testing players every day while Spanish civilians may be struggling to get the same tests.

Guillem Balague confirmed that Celta Vigo are refusing to take the Covid-19 tests right now as they believe others in society need the tests more urgently.

 

Covid-19 waivers and Barcelona’s call for safety guarantees

Aside from testing, there are also bigger safety issues at play egarding La Liga’s possible resumption.

In that regard, Guillem Balague has claimed:

Barcelona are considering telling La Liga that they will not play unless there are enough guarantees that it’s safe to do so.

The problem with Barcelona’s stance is that La Liga aim to get every player in the league to sign waiver forms. Balague continued:

As part of the protocal players have to sign a consent that they have been informed that there is no risk zero.

Players aren’t happy to sign this. Who will be responsible if they catch it?

 

Fears footballs can infect

In a final point of note, Balague paraphrased the updates from an epidemiologist who is advising La Liga on how Spanish football can restart.

The epidemiologist, who spoke to Spanish paper El Pais, was asked if footballs can infect players with Covid-19. Balague said:

The doctor was asked this question by a journalist. ‘Can a ball that hits you during the game infect you?’

He answered ‘Possibly not because the equipment which will be used in the game will be disinfected. But, we don’t know for sure.’

 

 

Listen to the podcast


Also see: Fixtures & Coronavirus: Stop dates & predicted restart schedules for European leagues, Champions League & Euro 2020.

Project Restart: Fans forced to pay Sky & BT Sport as games like Man City vs Liverpool won’t be free.

La Liga fixtures expected to be forced behind closed doors until 2021.



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