TOP CLUBS AT ODDS OVER TESTING CUP RIVALS
A SPLIT has opened up in the Premier League over the Covid chaos surrounding this week’s Carabao Cup ties. Top-flight clubs are at odds after it emerged that some have paid for their midweek EFL opponents to be tested and others have not.
Sportsmail understands that a number of sides who have paid for the tests contacted the EFL for clarification after Brentford rejected West Brom’s offer to foot the bill for theirs. Hull City also rejected West Ham’s offer to pay for tests before last night’s match, which was hit by positive tests for two West Ham players and boss David Moyes. The EFL backed its clubs, which led to a bemused reaction. Liverpool, Tottenham, West Ham and Chelsea arranged to pay for their EFL opponents to have tests. But neither Manchester club has followed suit, prompting concerns that they are putting the Premier League’s bubble, on which millions has been spent, in jeopardy. United played Luton last night at Kenilworth Road while City face Bournemouth — who took on Covid-hit Middlesbrough on Saturday — at the Etihad tomorrow. Aston Villa, Burnley, Fulham and Newcastle have also decided not to fork out for tests for their lower-league opponents. Unlike the Premier League, where players are tested regularly, those in the EFL are not tested unless they have returned from international duty. That move was made after 99 per cent of players returned negative results during Project Restart. ‘It’s staggering,’ one top-flight official said. ‘You’ve got Premier League clubs spending fortunes to ensure the bubbles are secure. You have staff at clubs who are desperate to get into grounds, but who can’t because of how seriously it is being taken. Then you go and face EFL players who haven’t been tested before the game? It doesn’t make any sense.’
United and City declined to comment. There is a belief that the risk of coronavirus being passed between players during matches, where contact is often for a fraction of a second, is minimal. Of their decision to pay for Barnsley’s tests, Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said: ‘It’s a sign of a club in the Premier League doing the right thing.’ Fleetwood manager Joey Barton, whose side take on Everton tonight, said the squad had not been tested. ‘We wouldn’t want to test someone if we didn’t have to because it costs us a lot to do it,’ he said. ‘We don’t have 40 grand to pay for testing every week, it’s a waste.’