Image credit-Talksport
It’s been a rather insane few weeks in the world of sport as the corona virus reaks havok on normality. The Premier League has been suspended until April the 3rd at the very earliest while multiple Champions League fixtures have been postponed. There was an assumption from some that football would somehow escape the virus but the announcement that the Juventus centre back Danielle Rugani was positive turned that idea on its head. However, that didn’t change the shock factor of the Mikel Arteta news. First of all, we wish Mikel well and hope he’ll be back as soon as possible. From the relatively frequent updates, it seems like he’s doing just fine and his wife looks to have avoided altogether which is great. Thankfully, the virus is generally pretty mild for young healthy people such as Arteta and we’re sure he’ll be fine.
It was absolutely the correct decision to suspend football until April. The health and safety of fans, players and staff, as well as those around them must come first. This disease effects society’s most vulnerable more than anyone else and we have a duty to protect them in every way possible. Here in Ireland, we have closed all schools, colleges, public facilities and now pubs (yeah, even pubs) until at least the end of March. This is an epidemic and we all must be sensible. Sport is nothing compared to what is at stake for the thousands of vulnerable people who would be at risk should games take place. In comparison to Ireland, the UK have taken a far different approach. Ludicrously, the horse racing in Cheltenham went ahead and schools and colleges remain open. I’m no medical expert, but this seems at best ill advised.
The question remains whether or not we continue the premier league season or whether we render it null and void. A number of suggestions have been thrown out from a 22 Premier League season next campaign to simply awarding Liverpool the title and moving onto next season with no other ramifications. This is uncharted territory for everyone and there’s no way this is resolved without teams being unfairly treated. Its almost certain that the European Championships scheduled for this Summer will have to be postponed and that will provide another dilemma for those involved in rescheduling. In truth it’s too early to tell when and how this issue is resolved. At the moment, it feels like we are long way from being able to attend sports games again but lets hope that the experts can slow down this terrible virus.
Please people, if not for your own health, for the sake of the grandmother who you sits beside you on the bus, your roommate with cystic fibrosis or the asthmatic retail worker, wash your fucking hands and don’t be a dope. Avoid large gatherings and most importantly follow the advice of medical experts, not people on Twitter. This is a good opportunity to catch up on that Netlix series or to read that book you’ve never had time to read before. Use your time wisely and stay safe.
TheGoonerStation 