Suspension was correct call: Holt
ACCRINGTON Stanley owner Andy Holt has stressed that there are more important things in life than football as the world continues to deal with the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak.
Football in England is currently at a standstill due to the pandemic, with all of the major leagues suspending their activity. The decision was made last week to suspend the leagues, with a current date of April 4 in place for when it may be possible to return.
As the virus continues to spread, the April 4 return date looks more and more unlikely to be achievable, but owner Holt has agreed with the decision to suspend football in the first place.
“I don’t know if I am doing the right thing or the wrong thing asking for games to be postponed but I am doing what I believe to be right for the Accrington management, staff, players and fans and the general health of everyone else,” he told the club’s official website.
“I don’t want to increase the risk for people by coming to our ground, especially as we have a lot of elderly fans at Accrington.
“I also don’t want Coley, the players and fans going to an away ground which will increase the risk of them developing Coronavirus.
“It’s important we keep everyone as safe as we can and we have got to approach this correctly. We have got to calm down, keep gatherings down to a minimum and just see how things develop.
“There are more important things in life than football. I was upset when Rotherham fan Andy Wilson-Storey was taken ill at our ground in February and later died and we need to be sensible.
“I don’t want to take a chance on the health of anyone and, whether this is proved right or wrong, it’s better to be safe until we know what is exactly going on.
“There is conflicting medical advice all over the world so we will keep it under review until we know exactly which path to take.”
The postponement of the games throughout the major footballing leagues has seen three of Stanley’s fixtures suffer so far, including their planned home games with Doncaster and Coventry, along with their away match against Portsmouth.
They are set to return with a trip to Gillingham on April 4, but again it looks unlikely at this stage that it will be possible.