IN MANY parts of Europe, footballers are slowly returning to work. It’s a strange sort of return for sure, mostly still involving individual training for now. But increasingly it is being done at their club training grounds and in some cases small group exercises with the ball are being permitted.But for others a long football-less summer now stretches ahead. In the past week both the French and the Dutch leagues have been abruptly ended after the governments in both those countries declared that there would be no sporting events until September.
The football authorities had little choice but to call off the current season after the government decrees. But I find the decision made by politicians in these circumstances to be rather extraordinary and unduly hasty.
French and Dutch-made crystal balls must offer greater and clearer foresight than those available in the rest of the world. While most nations are planning on a weekly or monthly basis, France and Holland have taken binding decisions now that will have lasting and serious ramifications.
UEFA have set a deadline of May 25 for leagues to inform them of their intentions for the current season. That seems reasonable and UEFA have been admirably flexible in their handling of the crisis so far: they have prioritised domestic competitions over their own, are willing to look at the formats used for completing the Champions League and Europa League, and have shown some patience.
Would it have been too onerous for the French and the Dutch to wait even that long before deciding? What it means for clubs from those countries still involved in UEFA competitions is anyone’s guess.
Paris St Germain (PSG) had even started to look a little like Champions League contenders this season before the enforced break.
Those leagues may have ended but the fall-out is only just beginning. Cambuur coach Henk de Jong called it “the biggest scandal ever in Dutch sport,” after his team were denied what was almost certain promotion to the top division. They will challenge the decision in the courts and who can blame them?
What makes the whole thing even more incredible is that Germany is preparing to resume the Bundesliga later this month. Yes, the same Germany that borders both France and Holland and not a country known to be exactly cavalier when it comes to health and safety.
Of course it’s not guaranteed that the Germans will be able to complete their league successfully in the next couple of months but they have a realistic chance. And if they do, I wonder what the French and Dutch will make of their decisions then.
Watching very closely what happens in Germany is the English Premier League. On Friday they reiterated their stance to try and finish this season as soon as it’s deemed safe to do so. Crucially they appear to have government backing for a restart.
Plans are being made for Premier League football to be back in June.
Some pundits in the UK, and a surprising number of fans, don’t seem very happy at the prospect. Many are saying, how can football even think about coming back while people are still dying of Covid-19?
Sadly, people will still be dying of the disease for quite a long time to come. Is football supposed to wait until a vaccine is found and proved safe? It’s clear that current restrictions cannot remain in place indefinitely and so we must all adapt to living our lives with Covid-19 still present.
Football is part of that adaptation like any other sector and sometime soon I expect English football will be back.
Craig Wilkie. Football Writer. Football Coach. Football Fan.
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Star
