TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsPlayers worried about Premier League restart: PFA deputy chief
The league's "Project Restart" envisages a return to play in June at neutral venues, once given the green light from the government, but players are worried about transmission when sharing the pitch with others in a contact sport.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
A man wearing a protective face mask passes near an advertisement of the Newcastle United Football Club, as the spread of the COVID-19 continues, in Newcastle, Britain, April 25, 2020. A bid by a Saudi Arabian state fund to secure ownership of Newcastle United is drawing scrutiny, but even if it succeeds it is unlikely that the petrodollars will transform the Premier League club into a powerhouse in the near future. (Reuters/Lee Smith)
P
layers have genuine concerns about their health as the Premier League considers resuming fixtures amid the COVID-19 pandemic, players' union deputy chief Bobby Barnes has said.
The league's "Project Restart" envisages a return to play in June at neutral venues, once given the green light from the government, but players are worried about transmission when sharing the pitch with others in a contact sport.
A British government study said black people are nearly twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than whites and Barnes said young black players were apprehensive.
"There are players who have voiced genuine concerns," the Professional Footballers Association's Barnes told the Times.
"You've got players who've got young children, players with pregnant partners, people with underlying health conditions.
"Some of the young black players I've spoken to have read what's in the press and want answers to that (government study). 'Am I more affected in my demographic and if so why?'
"My stance with the Premier League from day one has been it's all very well those of us in suits saying what our opinions are but we're not going to be out there on a Saturday afternoon and we're not going to be going back to our family."
A third first team player at Brighton & Hove Albion tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend, sparking fresh concerns about the league's proposed restart.
Clubs are due to meet later on Monday to further discuss how to complete the remaining 92 matches of the season.
