Football restarting. Why?

[HMSSophie]

If premiere league football - famously a sport played by people from the same household - restarts, WHY?

I am angered by this unreasonably. Football? Is that what we've come to? That the (primarily but not only) male masses need their dummy? That the footballers themselves can't lose a season in which to shine? That restarting will "justify" their obscene salaries?

[Forgone90]

Ummm because the football industry brings in shit loads of money through tax etc and is a part to starting our economy.... Will also help with the people struggling with lockdown to feel some normality!

[HMSSophie]

I have no penis envy thank you. Stop making assumptions about my sex.

It's absolutely a case of "bread and circuses".

[PrimeroseHillAnnie]

Worse case of penis envy I've seen in a while.

[MrsWhites]

@Iknitknickknacks

Some of the rules the government has put in place this week are ridiculous I agree but I can’t understand why you think any of that, cleaners back at work, people not wearing masks etc has anything to do with football.

Also, have you thought about submitting a list of jobs that you see as ‘real jobs’ to the government for their consideration? Because approximately 1 million people are employed in sports related industry in the U.K., industry that brings in around £23 billion to the economy. So not quite the ‘very questionable’ contribution you claim it to be!

[Mintypylonsfryingsurplus]

A very tribal sport, will soon see lounges packed with friends sharing beers, pizza, toilets and virus particles all huddled together.
Sounds a fab idea to get people immune ready for the Autumn.

[ViciousJackdaw]

Get to the back of the queue

Ooh, get you! You do know schools have a tentative restart date don't you? Football matches don't yet. While I wait for that news, I shall endeavour to find out how an empty stadium is associated with crowds.

[cheeseycracker]

It's like you think everything has to be done one by one??
Back of the queue?!

[avroroad]

Schools returning completely should be well above 'footballers' and that won't happen until September at the earliest.

Please, please explain because I have no idea why you are putting one persons job agains t kids going to school? It's not even remotely comparable. People are allowed to work. People working has nothing to do with the advice re schools. (Unless they are teachers of course)

[Iknitknickknacks]

Viciousjackdaw

As I said, places associated with crowds should be right at the bottom of the pile with regards to 'adding?' (Very questionable) to the economy.

Certainly not in the first wave of 'returning to work' (not really work though).

Schools returning completely should be well above 'footballers' and that won't happen until September at the earliest.

Education is important - far more than blokes in shorts chasing each other around a field in order to kick a bag of nothing.

Get to the back of the queue - non essentials.

[thunderthighsohwoe]

Oh Jesus. Never mind childcare hubs, they need football hubs where fans can go and watch the games on tv so that their long suffering partners don’t have to resort to violence.

[PurpleGoose]

@TerrapinStation I'll be honest and say I don't know anything about the current working conditions of refuse collectors (although I would hazard a guess that they're working with the same 3-4 person crew and not switching vehicles during a shift).

I do however have a close family member that works in sports broadcasting. Currently the safety options that have been suggested aren't considered acceptable by clients (e.g the clubs) and are quite far from meeting government safety recommendations. Also you're talking far more than 3-4 people crammed into a truck. In a typical broadcasting week - including a weekend at both ends- my family member would be working at approx 3-4 different sporting venues, in a job that involves accessing multiple parts of those venues, including being in a broadcasting truck. They'd work with at least 3 completely different teams of people, across 3-4 different sports. At a guess I'd say encountering at 20-30ish people at an event, depending on the venue. (By encounter I mean for more that a few minutes, in an enclosed area that size wise is difficult/impossible to be 2m apart in.)

Their specific job is fairly specialised and not a lot of people do it, so it's not like the jobs can be split across several people to reduce the need to mix.

Add in that it's looking like most sports will start up at the same time and will try to cram more events in over a shorter time period and it's looking more likely that they're going to be working across 6-8 sports and venues.

I'd say that's a large spread/contamination area. They're just one person in a huge broadcasting machine, multiply that by all the other people who work in the industry and suddenly you've got a very 'out of control' spread.

Oh and that's before you factor in that they live in a household with someone who works in a school, where social distancing is not going to be feasible...

Second peak here we come.

[ViciousJackdaw]

footballers who obviously don't follow rules the rest of us have to

The instructions are to go back to work if you can't work from home though. Are footballers not employees then? Currently, they are training 2m away from each other and in smaller groups. Faces covered at all times. The only people who have ignored the instructions are a few individuals on their own private business.

If you have a first class degree in door closing then you'll already know that games will be played this way - with no supporters present. So I can't work out why you are getting your knickers in a twist about crowds.

If you bothered to read the previous link, you'll know that the tests are being purchased privately from a company in Hong Kong - hardly being 'snatched away' from people. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not getting dressed up in a white coat and sneaking into Salford Royal you know...

[Iknitknickknacks]

Viciousjackdaw

If I was employed as a cleaner I would be able to enter other people's houses in order to clean and I would be able to flit from one house to the next - that's how it is. Just the same as the painters and decorators in the house opposite mine - two older men and a young apprentice by the looks of it - doubling the number of people in that building - all sharing the same air. If my daughter decides to employ me it's business between her and me. And you know that post you're referring to was tongue in cheek because it says so. But tomorrow I have a new job as a cleaner starting immediately. Hey ho. Thanks vicious you gave me the the push I needed.

How is that contravening any laws/rules?

Cleaners can work and decorators can work along with other travelling sales people who enter houses as part of their job.

And I'm not picking and choosing my battles - I'm pointing out the nonsensical 'rules' which seem to apply randomly instead of across the board - especially to footballers who obviously don't follow rules the rest of us have to.

And before people start saying well I have to work and I have to be close to other people - fine, the recommendation is that ppe should be used if that is the case.

Just like the recommendation that people should now wear face coverings on public transport and in shops but I don't see that happening either. Just like the painters and decorators across the road aren't wearing face coverings inside the house.

If it doesn't make sense - then it's not right.

And sport and leisure should be at the bottom of the list for getting the economy going.

Lockdown should be completely lifted in order for crowds to be allowed to congregate - pubs, theatres, sports (including football and horse racing which should've been stopped way before end of March).

Oh and I have heard of behind closed doors - it means behind doors that are closed - I knew that first class honours degree would come in handy some day!
Doesn't stop footballers breaking the 2m rule that us sheep have to stick to. Test away. Test every footballer every day indefinitely - take all the tests you want to snatch away from other people in more need - that only tells you you don't have the virus on that particular day

[DuncinToffee]

This BBC article answers some of the questions re testing www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52676024

Personally, for now I will stick with classic 'live' matches on youtube ( we are leading Rapid Wien 1-0 ) with fans present.

[rozzyraspberry]

You can’t underestimate what this will mean for some people. My dad is a full-time carer for my mother who is in the advanced stages of dementia and it’s bloody hard going.

He cannot go out and cannot see family who usually support him.

Having a bit of football back on the tv will make a huge amount of difference to him.

[SimonJT]

@Tc83 RL and RFU are trying for force players to play three games a week, zero concern for player welfare.

[LetsGoFlyAKiteee]

Pep also lost his mum to cornavirus so cant see him shouting to restart it. So many factors

[Tc83]

Some of the players seem to be against this with some of the comments coming out. League 2 cancelled for the season today. I can see it not going ahead to be honest.

[feelingverylazytoday]

There's already been wrestling and UFC events held in the US (without crowds) and they have to get right up close to each other. Haven't heard of any of them getting infected. There's too much money at stake for them to sit at home. I can see quite a few sporting events, and possibly entertainment events, starting up again.

[ThroughThickAndThin01]

So pleased, thank God,

[avroroad]

Or are you saying football is work? Which is the most ridiculous thing ever.

Refer to the second part of the above re ridiculous

I really didn't think anyone could be quite so stupid.

[ScarfLadysBag]

I'm hoping the F1 will start in the not too distant future. They've said July but who knows - that'll be behind closed doors too, no crowds, just skeleton staff.

I don't really see the problem. They'll probably be more on the ball with testing and safety measures than a lot of other workplaces that went back this week.

[ViciousJackdaw]

Sport should be the last on the list of 'getting back to normal' because of it's need for 'crowds'

Crowds are not needed though. Have you never heard the phrase 'behind closed doors'?

It's not as if they are pretending to employ their relatives in exchange for a salary of 'coffee and biscuits' so they've got an excuse to contravene the lockdown guidelines now is it? Seems to me like you are simply picking and choosing what to get offended about.

[MrsWhites]

@Iknitknickknacks I didn’t say visiting people was any different to standing in a queue in a supermarket. I said it was different to getting people back into work, which whether you like it or not is what footballers are doing, getting back to work.

Your distaste for football or footballers doesn’t mean they aren’t an industry in the U.K. contributing to the U.K. economy!

[Whattodowhattodooo]

Can't bloody wait!! Been without my football for far too long!