English football’s response to coronavirus is unacceptable, asserts Angelo Ogbonna
West Ham defender Angelo Ogbonna has accused the Premier League and the English FA over their response with regards to the coronavirus pandemic. English football’s decision makers took a lot longer to opt to play behind closed doors and only suspended all activity less than three days ago.
That came only after Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta revealed that he was infected with the illness and reports indicate that it came after contact with Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis. The Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos owner attended the Europa League clash between Arsenal and Olympiacos at the Emirate stadium and later revealed that he tested positive for the virus.
That saw the Gunners’ put under quarantined but it was only after Arteta confirmed he tested positive that the English FA took the decision to suspend all activity. However, West Ham star Angelo Ogbonna has admitted that the response was far too late and that the Hammers should have never played against Arsenal less than four days later. Ogbonna also added that the country’s lax mentality has to be called into question after a decision like that.
"It's absolutely unacceptable that our game against Arsenal did go ahead. They'd played Olympiakos and the Greek team's owner had already been struck down with the virus. It almost seems as if someone needs to die in order for timely decisions to be made,” Ogbonna told Corriere della Sport.
"It's not a footballing matter, but it's entrenched in the country's mentality. They haven't fully grasped the risk surrounding this virus which can be spread in just a few seconds if you don't behave in the correct way. I haven't been tested, which is further proof of the lax attitude here, to say the least."
