Competitive football not advisable in World World II like situation, claims FIFA
FIFA’s medical chief Michel D’Hooghe has stated that the world is not ready for competitive football at the moment and is expecting things to resume not before the next season. The Dutch league and the Ligue 1 are the two leagues to have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Michel D’Hooghe compared the current coronavirus situation to World War II and suggested that football should not resume until September, which technically implies next season. The official stressed on the fact that aspects like money are at the backseat and this is a situation of life and death. The Ligue 1 and the Dutch Eredivisie are two of the major European leagues to have been cancelled owing to the Covid-10 situation.
"The world is not ready for competitive football. It is not a matter of money — it is a matter of life and death. If there is one moment where absolute priority should be given to health and medicine, it is this. That is why I ask everybody to be very careful before starting competitions again. I will be happy if we can have nothing before the start of next season. If they could start the 2020-21 in September they could eventually avoid a second attack from the virus,” stated Michel D’Hooghe as reported by foxsports.com.
Meanwhile, the German Bundesliga is eyeing May 9 as a possible date to restart, while the English Premier League is also looking into options of resuming its matches behind closed doors. D’Hooghe stated why the resumption of the Premier League would not be a wise option.
“You cannot play in the Premier League when players have to remain two metres apart. Have you ever tried playing football in a mask? This does not avoid social distancing. Players are together on the field, in the dressing room. Of course, you could say, ‘Let’s play behind closed doors’. But even then, you will see groups of fans coming secretly together in rooms just to support their team anyway,” added the official.
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