One rule for football, another for the rest of us
THE Euros and their ability to escape Covid restrictions took centre stage in yesterday’s comment sections.
Daily Mail
Jeff Holmes takes aim at the footballers who “think they can ignore Covid restrictions that [the rest of us] must obey”. But, he points out, most of the blame lies at the feet of the UK Government.
“What more could we expect when the politicians who sanctioned this contagious event and thereby invited fans to throng the streets and stadiums were among those seen junketing mask-less at the G7 and are alleged to be jostling it up in hideaway bars in the cramped honeycomb of No 10
Downing Street?” he writes.
“If a massive spike in infections follows this football fiasco, jeopardising lives and plunging us all back into lock-ups with no hope of escape by land, sea or air, we will know who to blame.
“Everyone from Matt to Mason, from Boris to Billy and Ben.”
The Guardian
Marina Hyde looks at the double standard emerging at the tournament, following the news that capacity at Wembley stadium will be increased to 60,000 for the Euro 2020 final.
She writes: “Frankly, it felt quite surprising to learn that any England players had got near Billy Gilmour on Friday – but more understandable once it was explained that the contact occurred in the tunnel after the game. Even so, the idea that no Scotland players came into close enough contact with Gilmour, anywhere from the dressing room to the team base is – in strictly epidemiological terminology – a complete piss-take.”
She adds: “According to Boris Johnson, his government wishes to make ‘sensible accommodations’ for Uefa. But where are the ‘sensible accommodations’ for people forced to isolate on no pay for happening to sit at a separate table in an outdoor beer garden near someone who tested positive? Where are the ‘sensible accommodations’ for double vaccinated people who wish to travel to Malta, which is miles ahead of us on vaccinations and would surely be on the green list, were the green list not a stage-managed fiction?”
The Scotsman
Brian Ferguson points out that yesterday’s announcement about the timeline for relaxing physical distancing is good news for the arts.
“It did not escape my attention that a number of musicians and artists were announcing a return to live performance at a football-related event rather than a cultural festival,” he writes.
“While the above anomalies will remain intact for another few weeks, venues and festival organisers can now finally plan to reopen, reboot and set about a long-awaited recovery.”