Football & Coronavirus [READ MOD NOTE IN FIRST POST - updated 06-05-20]

Unearthly · 10-03-2020 9:54am #1

Mod note: 23-04-2020

mods wrote:

Ok, the thread is open on condition that this is in the common interests of soccer to discuss what happens next. Any sniping or trolling or tribalism will be met with a no questions asked removal of posting rights.

Normal totting up rules no longer apply in this thread, bans will be instant.

Following discussion with the mod team the following users are threadbanned:

brinty
T.Hanks
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Threadbanned users posting further in this thread will result in a permanent soccer forum ban

06-05-20: MD1990 ban lifted.

Football is now getting impacted significantly so best to have a separate topic

Serie A postponed until April, champions league match PSG and Dortmund to be played behind doors.

How will the seasons get completed? Lots of unknowns at the moment.

Harry Palmr · 10-03-2020 10:00am

The Euroes have not been mentioned much in the media but if leagues are being postponed plus its very format this year must mean it's under threat.

gimli2112 · 10-03-2020 10:04am

Cost benefit analysis by UEFA. How much money can we make v how many people have to die.

I don't understand why some places are making the distinction between open air events and enclosed ones. If someone sneezes on you I can't imagine it matters if you're out in a field.

DvB · 10-03-2020 10:39am

Can see the whole summer being a write off from a tourism POV, so fully expect Euro 2020 to be impacted significantly, put it this way how can it not be? Its only a few months away & its clear this is a world wide issue that is not going to be resolved in the next 5 or 6 weeks.

Unearthly · 10-03-2020 11:17am

Harry Palmr wrote: »

The Euroes have not been mentioned much in the media but if leagues are being postponed plus its very format this year must mean it's under threat.

I think like the Olympics they will wait til last moment to decide. Too much money involved to make a decision at this stage.

all about the mane · 10-03-2020 11:27am

Unearthly wrote: »

I think like the Olympics they will wait til last moment to decide. Too much money involved to make a decision at this stage.

Thought they had to make a decision before the end of April?

Unearthly · 10-03-2020 11:29am

all about the mane wrote: »

Thought they had to make a decision before the end of April?

Link? The current affairs topic + reddit forum are moving way too fast that I have missed out on information. Cheers

Cookiemunster · 10-03-2020 11:32am

I head someone mention this morning that it could be postponed until summer 2021.

Unearthly · 10-03-2020 11:39am

Barcelona and Napoli Champions league match March 18th to be played with no crowd

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/mar/10/barcelona-to-play-napoli-behind-closed-doors-amid-coronavirus-fears

Mushy · 10-03-2020 11:41am

Unearthly wrote: »

Barcelona and Napoli Champions league match March 18th to be played with no crowd

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/mar/10/barcelona-to-play-napoli-behind-closed-doors-amid-coronavirus-fears

Bayern's vs chelsea may be the same

astrofool · 10-03-2020 11:44am

gimli2112 wrote: »

Cost benefit analysis by UEFA. How much money can we make v how many people have to die.

I don't understand why some places are making the distinction between open air events and enclosed ones. If someone sneezes on you I can't imagine it matters if you're out in a field.

You don't see the difference between an open air event, vs. an inside event with recirculated air that everyone will breathe in? Really??

I mean, yes, you can get sick at both, but the risk profile is completely different, unless you're one of those "Any risk isn't worth it!" people, in which case a solitary life in cotton wool is for you.

gimli2112 · 10-03-2020 11:47am

yeah I just kind of get the "smoking is good for you vibe" that doctors used to tell people in the fifties.
40,000 people together has to be a significant risk factor, it may be a greater risk indoors but that doesn't change the fact this is a highly infectious disease

Pedro K · 10-03-2020 11:50am

I'm quite worried about leagues like our own, where some clubs rely on gate income to keep the lights on every week. Suspending leagues or closed door games could see teams go bust.

MD1990 · 10-03-2020 11:50am

Lot of lower league clubs in england & around Europe could go under.
LOI clubs will be under huge pressure as well

Euro's has to be cancelled & this season finished when possible.

osarusan · 10-03-2020 11:52am

Pedro K wrote: »

I'm quite worried about leagues like our own, where some clubs rely on gate income to keep the lights on every week. Suspending leagues or closed door games could see teams go bust.

Absolutely.

For leagues like the EPL, the tv money dwarfs the gate money, but in LOI, it's a huge chunk of it. And apart from Maybe Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers, the clubs will have no reserve to fall back on.

BullBlackNova · 10-03-2020 12:02pm

I posted this in the General PL thread but it's more at home here:

Parking the idea of whether football without fans actually matters, there's some huge decisions that need to be taken and soon. We are all aware of the public health perspective so I don't need to mention it but the conversation on Twitter has moved towards income loss and it is an interesting one.

Big PL teams are fine - match day revenues don't matter much in the grand scheme of it (vs tv money for example) but mid level football league clubs would go under if you just removed half a dozen home games from them between now and May (presuming it's resolved by the start of next season, that is. If it went on longer, even bigger clubs could go under too)

But then you've got the competition side of things. Say they parked it now and decided to start again in August, who do you relegate or promote? Nobody? Okay, good luck with the lawsuits from Leeds, West Brom, etc who would have a very valid argument to make that they were deprived of a legitimate chance of promotion (same further down the leagues too, I'm sure)

That's before you even factor in Liverpool and the title, the Champions League race (both this seasons competition and the battle for the top four for next season) and so on.

You'd be talking massive potential suits there in many instances. And while I'm sure the FA, football league and Premier league could all point to a government directive if one is issued, if it isn't, there'd be a huge blowback.

For me, the logical decision is to play behind closed doors to prevent spread but to also see out competitions. And then hold off starting new ones until the situation is safe after the fact. Of course it's not ideal but the alternative strikes me as a major mess.

Precautions need to be taken to protect playing and coaching staff, but that's the same as any other workplace.

MD1990 · 10-03-2020 12:06pm

playing behind closed doors is fine.

But the chances of a player not getting the virus are very slim over the next 2 months

poolboy · 10-03-2020 12:11pm

MD1990 wrote: »

Lot of lower league clubs in england & around Europe could go under.
LOI clubs will be under huge pressure as well

Euro's has to be cancelled & this season finished when possible.

This.
Put Euros back to next summer and allow leagues to play on into June/July if necessary.

Unearthly · 10-03-2020 12:34pm

poolboy wrote: »

This.
Put Euros back to next summer and allow leagues to play on into June/July if necessary.

Problem is that some models have the peak occurring in Ireland/UK around summer time.

ArmaniJeanss · 10-03-2020 1:06pm

David Squires on … British football's reaction to the coronavirus outbreak

https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2020/mar/10/david-squires-on-british-footballs-reaction-to-the-coronavirus-outbreak

dfx- · 10-03-2020 1:15pm

DvB wrote: »

Can see the whole summer being a write off from a tourism POV, so fully expect Euro 2020 to be impacted significantly, put it this way how can it not be? Its only a few months away & its clear this is a world wide issue that is not going to be resolved in the next 5 or 6 weeks.

do you wait for two years for a vaccine?

If there is a drop in infections during Summer, does it re-appear next Winter

GLaDOS · 10-03-2020 1:55pm

Pedro K wrote: »

I'm quite worried about leagues like our own, where some clubs rely on gate income to keep the lights on every week. Suspending leagues or closed door games could see teams go bust.

Teams will have budgeted for European money as well. If there's a disruption to CL/EL next season it could put them in serious trouble.

DubDani · 10-03-2020 1:59pm

According to Tuttosport all the European Football associations are lobbying with UEFA to postpone the European Championship to 2021, so that they can stop the leagues now and move the leagues to finish later in the summer this year after a break.

While a lot of Games could be played without fans there are a lot of clubs (outside of the CL teams obviously) that would probably go against the wall without the gate money otherwise.

rob316 · 10-03-2020 2:02pm

The leagues will be played out behind closed doors which is disastrous for lower league sides. I can see the CL been scrapped, a number of countries are going to be on lockdown in a couple weeks.

Mushy · 10-03-2020 2:11pm

Seems the Nottingham Forest owner has it, and was apparently at their game last Friday. Assuming he met the players, theyd surely be at risk.

Cookiemunster · 10-03-2020 2:42pm

Mushy wrote: »

Seems the Nottingham Forest owner has it, and was apparently at their game last Friday. Assuming he met the players, theyd surely be at risk.

According to (Forrest fan) Daniel Storey on twitter he met with the players last Friday.

The Olympiacos (who he also owns) squad are currently undergoing tests for the virus.

He was also at the Emirates for the Europa League game two weeks ago. The Olympiacos v Wolves game is now in doubt.

Harry Palmr · 10-03-2020 3:21pm

Not sure why the EL game should be stopped because of the owner, he isn't playing and the Olympiacos squad (if fit) will not be kissing Wolves players (much), just keep them separate off the field.

Cookiemunster · 10-03-2020 3:32pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Not sure why the EL game should be stopped because of the owner, he isn't playing and the Olympiacos squad (if fit) will not be kissing Wolves players (much), just keep them separate off the field.

As I said above, the Olympiacos players are currently undergoing testing. He's an owner who likes to go into the dressing room. Wolves have actually asked UEFA to postpone the game.

Harry Palmr · 10-03-2020 3:33pm

https://twitter.com/Matt_Law_DT/status/1237349376357478400

I see he also had pix taken with fans at Forest. Oh boy.

Mars Bar · 10-03-2020 3:36pm

A bit of perspective for those upset they won't get to see their team on the TV. behind closed doors games or professionals not being able to play isn't the end of the world. I work as a full time coach in a club based solely in youth football and due to a directive of the local sports Council we've had to suspend all activity.

We're just short of going bust now as we need to refund for the terms and I need to either take a sizeable paycut or terminate. But every club here is in the same position so it's looking like a pay cut.

FutureGuy · 10-03-2020 3:43pm

I'd say we are about a week away from closed doors if the British government are smart enough.

MD1990 · 10-03-2020 3:44pm

FutureGuy wrote: »

I'd say we are about a week away from closed doors if the British government are smart enough.

I think leagues will be suspended.

Fores owner has it. Wont be long before some players get it

Harry Palmr · 10-03-2020 3:52pm

I thought we had two weeks at the weekend (basically long enough to win the league

) but I'd not be surprised by an announcement by the end of the working week.

CSF · 10-03-2020 4:05pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

I thought we had two weeks at the weekend (basically long enough to win the league ) but I'd not be surprised by an announcement by the end of the working week.

Tactical FA Cup exit to make sure the Palace game took place

citytillidie · 10-03-2020 4:41pm

Mars Bar wrote: »

A bit of perspective for those upset they won't get to see their team on the TV. behind closed doors games or professionals not being able to play isn't the end of the world. I work as a full time coach in a club based solely in youth football and due to a directive of the local sports Council we've had to suspend all activity.

We're just short of going bust now as we need to refund for the terms and I need to either take a sizeable paycut or terminate. But every club here is in the same position so it's looking like a pay cut.

The British government are calling a meeting with the PL and Broadcasters BT and Sky about showing all games on tv if they go behind closed doors to fans

Weepsie · 10-03-2020 4:51pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Not sure why the EL game should be stopped because of the owner, he isn't playing and the Olympiacos squad (if fit) will not be kissing Wolves players (much), just keep them separate off the field.

Did you ever watch how much spit flies about a football pitch involuntarily. It's remarkable

Pauliedragon · 10-03-2020 4:52pm

citytillidie wrote: »

The British government are calling a meeting with the PL and Broadcasters BT and Sky about showing all games on tv if they go behind closed doors to fans

Apparantly the counter argumenr to that is a lot of the 1000s of people who can't go to the game will congregate in crowded pubs anyway so it defeats the purpose to an extent. Obviously there wont be pubs with 40k people in them or 1000s on trains but who knows.

Cookiemunster · 10-03-2020 5:15pm

Pauliedragon wrote: »

Apparantly the counter argumenr to that is a lot of the 1000s of people who can't go to the game will congregate in crowded pubs anyway so it defeats the purpose to an extent. Obviously there wont be pubs with 40k people in them or 1000s on trains but who knows.

There's talks of making the games FTA in the UK.

Cookiemunster · 10-03-2020 5:17pm

citytillidie wrote: »

The British government are calling a meeting with the PL and Broadcasters BT and Sky about showing all games on tv if they go behind closed doors to fans

If it were to happen, it could be the straw that breaks the back of the stupid 3pm blackout law.

Muahahaha · 10-03-2020 6:11pm

This could be a disaster. We need to round up all footballers and put them on an island in the south Pacific so they can play out the season.

Iused2likebusts · 10-03-2020 6:31pm

With the world cup taking place in december in 2022 and this really taking hold. It might be an idea to have the next couple of seasons done in a calender year format. As in September to November this year finish off this season. Then for 2021 and 2022 run the season from Jan till Nov with a bit of a break in the Summer. After the world cup start looking at getting it back to normal season. Thats assuming this thing ends up being as bad as its looking it might.

Electric Nitwit · 10-03-2020 6:52pm

The Italian football federation (FIGC) said after a meeting on Tuesday that the Serie A season may not finish because of the coronavirus outbreak.

FIGC president Gabriele Gravina also put forward alternative options if the season can not be concluded.

They include staging play-offs, not having a champion for 2019-20 or declaring the current standings final.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/51824172

riffmongous · 10-03-2020 7:01pm

Slightly related, but the Austrian ice hockey league have just ended their season following a national spectator ban today.. they were down to the final sets of games, would have similar attendances to Ireland per match, it's a shock tbh

Harry Palmr · 10-03-2020 7:12pm

https://twitter.com/adriandelmonte/status/1237439497987657728

BREAKING: Several European federations ask UEFA to postpone EURO 2020 until 2021, in order to complete their respective championships.

NIMAN · 10-03-2020 7:20pm

As sad as it will be to see the likes of the Euro's cancelled, I'll not shed too many tears for the super rich clubs. They'll survive.

I fear for local soccer though. If they have to play behind closed doors, or have the league cancelled, it could be the end for some of them.

Arghus · 10-03-2020 7:42pm

If it has to be done, it has to be done. It is only football at the end of the day.

Ohmeha · 10-03-2020 8:28pm

Euro 2020 has to be certainty to be cancelled. If this virus did die down by May and the tournament was held in only one country there still could be a chance of it going ahead but the one time they decide to host it in 12 countries surely kills it off until summer 2021

Harry Palmr · 11-03-2020 12:34am

Wolves game will carry on but behind closed doors.

dreamers75 · 11-03-2020 12:50am

Getafe refusing to travel to Milan.

Cant say I blame them tbh

https://en.as.com/en/2020/03/10/football/1583880491_211241.html

pistolpetes11 · 11-03-2020 2:16am

City - Arsenal game off ......

NIMAN · 11-03-2020 9:21am

You get the feeling it is all starting to kick off in football at present, and by extension a lot of other sports are going to suffer big time.

Now that an EPL game has been cancelled, the floodgates will open I think.

We will p1ss about with games behind closed doors, but once a certain number of players around Europe catch it, it more or less makes a handful of their team-mates prime candidates to go next. Eventually we will have teams unable to fulfill fixtures and it will spiral.

Many experts reckon that this virus could be at its peak in May/June, I'd say the Euros are likely to get hit. Are they going to play all the games behind closed doors? Doubt it.

This next few weeks will be massive for the sporting world. PEople will realise its only sport and will stop going to events, forcing cancellations.

Football & Coronavirus [READ MOD NOTE IN FIRST POST - updated 06-05-20]

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