talkSPORT
The Premier League will introduce a series of extreme heath and safety measures to protect players and club staff when football returns from the coronavirus lockdown.
A ball hasn’t been kicked in the top flight since March, with the 2019/20 campaign suspended indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Premier League has given no firm indication of whether the season will be completed to its conclusion, and all manner of speculation has abounded in the weeks since the decision was taken to halt football in this country.
There are claims a number of Premier League clubs are planning for their players to return to training on May 9, with the current Government-enforced lockdown of the UK ending on May 7.
That can, of course, be extended by another three weeks, which would push the season resuming back even further.
Premier League chiefs have promised they will only be able to agree a restart when they get the green light from the Government.
In Germany, though, it was agreed on Thursday by the top 36 clubs that they will seek to resume the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 seasons on May 9, if they are allowed.
As reported by The Sun, Bundesliga bosses have drafted a set of detailed instructions that must be followed to the letter for matches to take place.
It appears they will be taking no chances with the health of players and other club and stadium staff members when action returns, and it is suggested the Premier League may implement the same strategy when football returns in England.
Bundesliga chiefs say there will be around 322 people directly involved in matchdays at a stadium, and everybody – including players – will be required to confirm they have shown no coronavirus symptoms in the previous 14 days.
Dressing-room areas will be equipped with hygienic facilities and be disinfected before the arrival of the players.
All the coaches must be sterilised and disinfected, while home players are advised to arrive in their own cars, and there must be a significant gap between the arrivals.
Both teams must also have separate routes to their dressing rooms and then be kept as far away from each other as possible.
Ideally, clubs are asked to re-arrange the changing area so that the starting teams, goalkeepers and substitutes all get stripped in different rooms – that’s THREE dressing rooms per team.
In the dressing rooms, players will have to bring their own food — which must not be shared.
They must also have individually named water bottles, to prevent any unspotted spread of potential illness.
Any players using fitness equipment must wear gloves and face-masks with the machines cleaned before and after use, with medical staff also donning PPE.
All doors should be left ‘as open as possible’ to prevent door handles — where virus spores can live for hours — being touched.
And there is a particular focus on social distancing, with clubs advised to use ‘several buses’ to transport their team to the stadium, with players and staff in separate vehicles.
If that is not possible, then nobody will be allowed off the coach unless they are wearing face-masks.
Teams must not use the same tunnel to access the pitch, even for pre-match warm-ups, which must be ‘phased’ so that the number of players and staff on the field is minimised
There will, of course, be no mascots, pre-match handshakes or team photographs. Shirt swaps at the end of games will also not be allowed.
Rules will also apply to the substitutes and coaching staff on the sidelines when the match is in play, who must socially distance themselves on the touchline.
Teams should leave the pitch through their own tunnels individually and also depart the stadium at different times.
Players must only shower in small groups, staying two metres apart, and preferably in individual cubicles, although, if possible, they should wait until returning to their hotel rooms or their homes.
And with normal media facilities other than seats in the stands closed, post-match press conferences will take place virtually, with the minimal number of journalists taking part.