Virgil’s empty gesture
Sunday Mail 53
Virgil van Dijk is gutted at the prospect of Liverpool fans being unable to properly celebrate a first league title in 30 years.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced the suspension of the English Premier League until April 3 at the earliest.
And there is st i l l the possibility of games being played in empty stadiums when football resumes.
Kop hero van Dijk is in limbo like the rest – and he feels sad for the Anfield fans who were looking forward to a title party before the threat to world health escalated.
The former Celtic star said: “If we won it in an empty stadium and the fans weren’t there I’d be gutted for them.
“Obviously if there are no fans at Anfield then it will be a bit of a blow – that is just a reality because no one wants to play games without the fans.
“Everyone who wants to support their team but can’t be at the game will f ind it tough. Until a decision is made on how we go on from here then we have to deal with it.
“But when it happens we are still bringing the title to our fans – definitely. It is a decision that the Premier League has taken and we go with that. We have to be sensible.
“If the authorities make that judgment then we will just deal with it and accept it.”
With some health officials warning Covid-19 will peak in the UK after April 3 and last until at least June, football may not return to full stadia after the first suspension of 22 days.
The FA and Premier League will assess the situation again at the beginning of April and privately admit they are in “wait and see” mode.
But off icials at some top Premier League clubs believe the situation could intensify and all date planning at present is purely hypothetical.
One Premier League club official told MailSport: “These are uncharted waters for all of us. Problems are emerging every hour, let alone every day.
“It’s hard to do any forward planning as no one knows how long this might last.
“All we can do is batten down the hatches and take the appropriate advice to protect our players and all the staff, follow the rules on good practice in terms of hygiene and see where it takes us.”