Quoting FIFA medical committee’s warning about not to think about resuming football in the next few weeks, Neville criticised FA for risking players’ health
Manchester United's English striker Marcus Rashford (R) puts the ball past Norwich City's Dutch goalkeeper Tim Krul (L) to score the opening goal during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Norwich City at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on January 11, 2020. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has slammed the Football Association (FA) for desperately trying to resume the leagues and competitions in the United Kingdom amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Plans are being put in place to resume group training in mid May and then play matches in June. Neville hit out at plan and said the decision was purely based on economic reasons.
Quoting the FIFA medical committee chief’s warning about not to think about resuming football in the next few weeks, Neville criticised the governing body for risking the health of the players and others involved.
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“The FIFA medical officer said that football should not take place before September. I think if it was a non-economic decision there would be no football for months,” Neville told Sky Sports.
“People are now assessing risk. How many people have to die playing football in the Premier League before it becomes unpalatable? One? One player? One member of staff goes into intensive care? What risk do we have to take? The discussion is purely economic,” the former England international added.
The English Premier League are reportedly eyeing a resumption of the 2019-20 season on June 8 and the games are likely to be played behind the closed doors.
According to The Times, the football chiefs and officials of other sport governing bodies are in touch with the British government to decide when they can stage the sporting fixtures which are currently on hold due to the situation caused by the novel coronavirus.
However, a BBC report had earlier stated that the clubs were likely to put June 30 as the deadline to decide if the 2019-20 season would continue or be scrapped amid the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic which has brought all forms of professional football into a standstill in the United Kingdom and in most parts of Europe.
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