6 cases across three EPL clubs
19 TEAMS CONDUCT TESTS, PLAYERS BEGIN TRAINING
The English Premier League’s first wave of mass coronavirus testing of players and staff found six people infected at three of the 19 clubs to conduct the checks.
Socially distant training sessions can now begin, without the involvement of the six people with Covid-19, who have to self-isolate for seven days.
The league is not identifying whether players or coaches tested positive from the tests on 748 people on Sunday and Monday. “The Premier League is providing this aggregated information for the purposes of competition integrity and transparency,” the league said in a statement.
One of the 20 clubs in the league only started conducting tests yesterday. The results of those tests will be included in the figures from the second wave of checks being published on Saturday.
The competition has been suspended since March due to the pandemic. A relaxation of national lockdown regulations is only now allowing non-contact training to resume, with a maximum of five players working together for up to 75 minutes a day at training facilities.
While the top divisions in Belgium, France and the Netherlands
have been curtailed, the Premier League has government backing to plan a return to action in June.
City appeal at CAS in June
But the aim of restarting around June 12 looks hard to meet. Premier League clubs will hold a conference call next Tuesday to discuss the protocols needed for contact training, as social distancing is still urged in wider society.
Meanwhile, Manchester
City’s appeal against a twoyear ban from European football will be heard over three days in June, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said yesterday.
CAS set aside June 8-10 for the case. It is unclear if a hearing will be held by video link or in person at the court in Lausanne, Switzerland. No timetable was set for a verdict but a ruling is needed before English teams enter next season’s Champions League draw.