UNHAPPY CHRISTMAS

WE’RE PLAYING TOO MUCH: Angry Prem stars insist the league doesn’t care about player welfare as packed festive fixture list is made even more difficult by Covid

ANGRY stars are to confront Premier League bosses about their concerns over player welfare.

Premier League chiefs are holding virtual meetings today with captains, PFA reps, and managers of all 20 top-flight clubs.

There is genuine anger in dressing rooms that players have not been listened to over the recent surge of Covid cases, which are having a huge effect on an already packed fixture list.

The increase in cases has led to postponements while players are being rushed back from injury before they are match-fit.

Players also habour fears for their families as the virus spreads.

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has already spoken out publicly, saying he is concerned that “nobody really takes player welfare seriously”.

That view will be echoed by other captains who have formed a powerful collective voice over the past two years during the pandemic. Henderson, together with the likes of Manchester United captain Harry Maguire,

Wolves skipper Conor Coady, and Tottenham’s PFA representative Ben Davies gained huge respect for speaking out.

“I don’t think people can appreciate how intense it is until you actually see it first-hand,” said Henderson in an interview with the BBC. “Football to us is everything and we want to be able to perform at the highest level. But, unfortunately, in this period it is difficult to do that.

“It has been like this for a few years now but then, on top of that, you chuck in Covid and it becomes even harder. I am concerned that nobody really takes player welfare seriously.

“We will have conversations in the background and try to have some sort of influence going forward, but at the minute I don’t feel the players get the respect they deserve.”

Brighton boss Graham Potter (above) backed Henderson’s view.

“There’s a balance between playing matches and money and we don’t always get it right. I can see where Jordan’s coming from,” Potter, 46, said.

The Premier League shareholders met on Monday and agreed to play on despite the raft of postponements last weekend because of Covid outbreaks at various clubs.

Some clubs wanted a circuitbreaker over Christmas but that was never a genuine possibility. Indeed a vote was not even taken.

Instead, the message was teams would have to play if they can field 14 fit players. The anger from the players and managers is directed at the Premier League rather than their own clubs because, ultimately, it is the league bosses who take decisions on fixtures and Covid postponements.

But the Premier League will stress that they are ready to listen and want to hear suggestions about how things can be improved.

One key factor has been the vaccination of players – Premier League figures revealed this week that 16 percent of players have yet to have a jab – and the impact that is having on fixtures. The Premier League have already brought in new emergency measures, such as daily lateral flow tests and twice-weekly PCR tests, but are also looking at further guidelines to combat issues surrounding unvaccinated players.

Players who have not had a jab may be told to travel, and even eat, separately from team-mates. Some clubs are already taking matters into their own hands by not allowing them to mix indoors and requesting they make their own way home from away trips. But it’s not a policy backed by everyone. Indeed Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel this week said vaccination was an individual decision and that there should be no witch-hunt against players who refuse to be jabbed.