Players should not be forced to play football, claims Sam Allardyce

With the Bundesliga making a return after a two-month gap and La Liga also set to follow a similar path, the Premier League has enforced group training as part of ‘Project Restart’ which aims at a June-restart. The former Everton boss Sam Allardyce opined that everyone wants to play under safe conditions and if that’s not the case, the players would not be able to play as per the potential.

According to the former England national team coach, there should not be any repercussions if the players do not want to play football. Several players have expressed concerns over possible re-start of football amid the Covid-19 pandemic situation and Allardyce feels that they should not be forced to play against their wish and risk their health.

"My first point of call as a manager in this situation would be to speak to all the players ... find out whether they want to play or not. I'd reassure them there would be no repercussions if they decided they would find it too difficult to play. We will all want to play but we'll all want to play under safe conditions. If they're too scared ... they won't be able to perform to their best and then they'll start getting criticized. Some players won't want to play and that has to be respected," said Sam Allardyce, as reported by Supersport.com.