‘The health of everyone must come first’
BRENTFORD boss Thomas Frank spoke of the “social responsibility” shared by everyone when reflecting on the FA’s decision to suspend matches because of the Coronavirus pandemic – with the west London derby last Friday the first major casualty.
A statement on the club’s website spoke of the action by football’s governing bodies, which was taken in light of the increasing numbers of clubs taking steps to isolate their players and staff because of the Covid-19 virus.
With the Championship among those leagues halted until at least April 3, Brentford manager Frank, speaking after the much-anticipated match with Fulham was called off just hours before kick-off, said in the statement: “I am sure that our fans share the disappointment of the players and coaches that we cannot take part in our scheduled matches, but this is entirely the right decision.
“We were all looking forward to a big week of football, but the health of everyone must come first.
“We have a social responsibility to ensure we do what we can to limit the spread of the virus and not playing matches is a way to do that.
“Denmark shut down their football earlier this week and I am thinking about my family and friends over there.
“We have players from all around the world and they have their concerns as well. The health of everyone is all that really matters at this point.
“Football is our lives, but we can all stop for a bit.
“The players always appreciate the following we get away from home and I know it would have been great at these two games.
“It gives us a great boost to see Brentford fans when we come out at away grounds. We look forward to seeing them at our next game, whenever that will be.
“The players and staff will be ready whenever we resume. We have nine very important games to come and dreams we want to achieve. We will see you all soon.”
Jon Varney, Brentford FC chief executive, said: “All Bees fans want to watch our matches and get behind our team, but that has to take a back seat at times like this. All here support this was the right decision as everyone is focussed on maintaining the health of everyone in the country and beyond.
“The steps we have taken recently have helped us stop the spread, but a full shutdown seemed the only option at this stage.
“It is devastating that, at a time we should be looking forward to an exciting run-in, we are dealing with a global health issue, but we, as a club, are not alone. Postponements for any reason are disappointing, but we will be ready to host games when the league resumes and are still looking forward to saying farewell Griffin Park in the coming months. I am sure there are some memorable moments to come. As soon as we have clarity on the rest of the season, we will update fans.
“The club will, in most other areas, be continuing as normal. We have stopped selling tickets for the game at Reading until we know when it will be played and there may be changes to our season ticket migration process that we will update supporters on in the coming days. Please, take all precautions to stay healthy and we hope to see you soon.”
Fulham also issued a statement once news of the Brentford clash was known, which said: “Following the announcement from the EFL, the club can confirm that this evening’s scheduled fixture against Brentford has been postponed.
“As was specified in the statement, the Football League will be suspended until at least April 3, meaning that our fixtures against Leeds United and Queens Park Rangers will also be postponed.
“We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, but we trust fans understand the unprecedented situation we find ourselves in.
“We will provide details regarding rearranged dates, future fixtures, and related ticketing information when available.”