TOWNSEND HOLDS FEARS FOR SON
been told one club has already been informed by two players they will not report back.
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has gone public to say two of his players have asthma and may not play while a Brighton squad member has a partner with a serious health issue. “The high percentage of the black and ethnic minority community this
WOLVES are to fine England Under-21 star Morgan Gibbs-White for breaking lockdown rules to party with reality TV stars in London.
The Wolves midfielder was filmed at a party in Greenwich alongside Love Island contestants Georgia Steel and Elma Pazar. Gibbs-White, 20, can now
James Nursey
disease is taking, and the risk in men as well, means I can’t sit back and enjoy football the way I have before,” said Townsend.
“I’m the parent you are talking to but I’m not going to be the only parent who feels that way and there are partners, wives and family members too.
“I’m an advocate of not coming back until it’s absolutely safe. Some people don’t agree with that. Without a doubt, BAME people will be conscious of that so it has to be spoken about at that level.”
Raheem Sterling and Danny Rose have also voiced concerns ahead of crunch talks between players, the Premier League, Professional Footballers’ Association and medical experts today.
PFA representatives and club captains will take part in the discussions and report expect to be disciplined by boss Nuno Espirito Santo and Wolves’ Chinese owners.
He may have to apologise to his team-mates after the incident on Thursday last week - just over a month after urging his social media followers to stay at home. Gibbs-White is the latest Premier League player to flout guidelines with Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish and Moise Kean among those in hot water.
Molineux owners Fosun also donated thousands of protective masks to health workers and Nuno’s squad made a six-figure donation to Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. Gibbs-White had back to their dressing rooms. But the outcome will be crucial in trying to get football restarted.
Players are being sent a 40-page document with new training protocols and have also been given a PFA update to give them expert advice on asthma and the increased risk for BAME players.
It will also include guidelines on parking three spaces apart from team-mates, wearing face masks in training, not sharing a car and also the twice-a-week testing process.
The PFA will want assurances that if players do opt out it will not be held against them. Chief executive Gordon Taylor said: “There are players who are going to be more vulnerable than others. Everybody is entitled to make their own
decisions.” struggled to build on a promising debut season in the Premier League after injuries limited him to 13 appearances before the campaign was halted.
Wolves stars returned to training on Monday and the club have set-up a testing hub for Covid-19.
HOT WATER: GibbsWhite faces a fine
JENS LEHMANN insists players have to cope with the coronavirus and claims it is not “a big concern” for fit young athletes.
The Arsenal Invincible, who suffered a bout of Covid-19 in March, said: “I found it less bad than when I have had the flu.”
Now the former Germany keeper,
50, has joined the supervisory board at Hertha Berlin as the Bundesliga prepares to become the first big European league to return.
Danny Rose and Raheem Sterling are the latest English players to voice safety doubts over the return of the Premier League next month.
The Bundesliga is following a strict medical protocol, with all squads playing this weekend now in quarantine.
Lehmann, above, said: “I think for young, healthy people with strong immune systems it’s not such a big concern.
“The only thing this lockdown is based on is the hope
Hoffenheim Augsburg Neil McLeman
we eventually are going to find a vaccine.As long as the symptoms are not that bad, players have to cope with it.” Ten footballers tested positive in the first round of testing last week, while Bundesliga 2 side Dynamo Dresden had to pull out of their first match of the restart after two of their players were found to be positive. Their match against Hanover has been delayed but other games will go ahead as planned.The biggest on Saturday is the Ruhr derby between two of Lehmann’s former clubs – Borussia Dortmund and Schalke. RB Leipzig host Freiburg and midfielder Konrad Laimer cannot wait to play again. “This is a small leap back to normal,” said the Austrian.