The Championship has been paused since March due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, with a return to the pitch still up in the air
Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray has questioned the wisdom of football’s return during the era of social distancing, saying the idea “doesn’t make sense”.
Mowbray’s side sat three points outside of the play-off places in the Championship when football was brought to a halt in March due to the spread of the coronavirus.
The English Football League has said it remains committed to finding a way to finish the 2019-20 campaign, but it remains unclear if it will be able to do so.
Mowbray has admitted that forcing leagues to return may not be feasible at this point, even if games were to be played behind closed doors.
“The world is missing football, but I don’t think we should be compromising the health of the staff, of the players, of the officials, of the people who would have to be around stadiums,” Mowbray told Sky Sports.
“Even empty stadiums, who is getting the balls back? Little things, everything has to be thought about. I can’t see a quick start to this solution. I’m not sure what it is.
“How are we going to go up for corners and challenge for headers and make tackles and have all the physicality that football is going to have, if we’re still doing that [social distancing]? It doesn’t make sense.”
The Premier League met on Friday to discuss a path forward and said that it was still committed to finishing its 2019-20 campaign.
However, the league did not make any decisions on how the season would go ahead and said that it would continue to follow government guidelines.
“The League and clubs are considering the first tentative moves forward and will only return to training and playing with Government guidance, under expert medical advice and after consultation with players and managers,” a statement said.
Testing continues to be a major factor in whether play in England can resume. According to the Premier League’s ‘Project Restart’ plan , all participants will have to pass a Covid-19 Antigen Test (CAT) 48 hours before returning to training.
That requirement has concerned Chelsea manager Frank Lampard , who has warned that players and coaches must not be given priority for testing ahead of key workers.
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