With soccer being an obvious contact sport, the possibility of social distancing in matches is in question. To put those nagging questions to rest, the Premier League posted the safety measures for its behind-closed-doors matches.
The key takeaways:
Premier League Safety Precautions
- Maintain distance during celebrations
- No handshakes
- No spitting or nose-clearing
- Use hand-sanitizer before and after every match
- Use own water bottle
- Avoid mass confrontations
- Restrict interaction with opponents
I like to imagine what some of these new safety measures might look like in practice …
Bundesliga showed us some celebration possibilities. Anything from elbow bumps to 6-feet-apart dance parties are on the table.
Raphael Guerreiro gets his second, and it's elbow bumps for Dortmund to celebrate. 4-0! #Revierderby #Bundesliga
— Planet Fútbol (@si_soccer) May 16, 2020
Erling Haaland scores ... and enjoys a social-distancing-appropriate goal celebration to boot. 1-0 Dortmund! #Bundesliga #Revierderby
— Planet Fútbol (@si_soccer) May 16, 2020
Kind of lonely with empty stands, but it’s better than nothing! I’m excited to see more.
Post-game handshakes are definitely going to be a thing of the past. This could be the perfect time for the foot-tap to make a comeback.
I don’t have a good alternative to hocking a loogie or snot rockets, which is probably for the best. Just hold that mucus in.
Obviously the players will be in physical contact during the actual matches; you can’t expect a top-tier defender to let another top-tier forward just waltz up the field.
But in all seriousness, the goal is to avoid unnecessary contact. By limiting the amount of contact between players and teams, the chances of catching COVID-19 are lowered.
If football is going to make a comeback, it has to do its part — that is, being played for us to watch and taking all the necessary precautions.
