WOLVES: DON’T MAKE US PLAY
Olympiakos v Wolves Europa League, tomorrow, 8pm
WOLVES have asked UEFA to postpone their Europa League tie at Olympiakos after the Greek club’s owner Evangelos Marinakis revealed he had caught the coronavirus.
And Marinakis, who also owns Nottingham Forest, has caused panic at Arsenal because he attended Olympiakos’ game at the Emirates less than two weeks ago.
As football was plunged deeper into chaos because of the deadly disease, Marinakis said
FOR Nuno Espirito Santo the global threat of coronavirus is far bigger than football. To the Portuguese boss, people’s health and safety means far more than the sport he loves and Wolves’ bid for Europa League glory.
Wolves have asked UEFA to postpone their last-16 tie in Greece against Olympiakos, which is due to be played behind closed doors on Thursday.
Nuno and his players will not defy the football authorities if their request is denied. But they will be extremely reluctant travellers.
“This is bigger than football,” he said. “Of course it is. It is a social situation and everyone is worried.
“I understand the decision of playing behind closed doors, but what is the point? Football is entertainment and it does not make sense. It does not have to be this way.”
Nuno believes that football chiefs have to look for alternative measures in the face of potentially one of the gravest health crises of modern times.
“I think something has to be done,” he said. “Closing doors and stadia is not a solution. This is not normal.
“We are pretending to live normal lives when things are not normal.
“Is there another solution? Why not stop? Why not?
“Does it make sense playing a game behind closed doors when fans cannot attend?
“This is a danger that is worldwide.
“All these things are happening, so maybe there is another solution in terms of football. Everyone must see what is going on.
“So is football sending out the right message that we can still compete and have contact?”
Nuno believes it is inevitable that with no sign yet of the virus being checked, the Premier League will soon be badly affected.
Just as the leagues in Italy, France, Germany, Spain and Portugal already are.
“We have our obligations and I am an employee of a club, and if we have to go there we will go, but we do not agree,” he added.
“I do not agree with playing behind closed doors, whatever the competition and whether it is in Greece, Portugal or in England.
“Football is entertainment, so what is the point? It is time to think there must be another option because this is something that is developing, and eventually it will happen in the Premier League.”
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola agrees.
“It’s the health of the people, what is best for humanity,” he said. “We have to take care of ourselves, not just one country, one city. It is all around the world, not just here or London.
“It is now many cases, every day in England, in China, and especially in Italy. The situation is unexpected.”
And like Nuno, the Spaniard says playing behind closed doors is a totally unsatisfactory response.
“I understand for the shortterm – one game okay – but if it is longer then football should be suspended,” he said.
“There is no reason to play without the people. It is about the people.
“It is like an actor in a theatre with no one there.”
This is a worldwide danger... is football sending the message we can still compete?
There’s no reason to play without people ...it’s like an actor in an empty theatre