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Peterborough United boss Darren Ferguson has called for the season to be halted to enable authorities to combat coronavirus.
The Cambridgeshire side are currently due to travel overnight on Friday to the North West where they are due to play Wanderers on Saturday.
The government are expected to confirm a move from the ‘contain’ phase of the virus action plan to the ‘delay’ phase – which could include social distancing measures which would prohibit large gatherings.
And that will heap pressure on the EFL to either suspend the competition or play games behind closed doors.
Speaking to BBC Cambridgeshire Sport, Ferguson said he was in favour of pausing the fixture list for the time being.
“I don’t see the value of playing behind closed doors,” he said. “The most important thing is the wellbeing of everyone. There really does need to be a stop to the season and there’s plenty of time to make the games up.
“When you play behind closed doors it’s not just about 22 players on the pitch, you have to have stewards, ball boys, ball girls, it’s not complete isolation. We’ve changed our travelling plans because we don’t want to be in a hotel too long.
“So we are travelling at night but the most important thing is there is a benefit to stopping now. Inevitably, they’re going to have to stop (playing). This thing isn’t going to go away overnight. The earlier they do it the better. But we will abide by whatever is done.”
Wanderers say they are waiting to hear from the footballing authorities before making their next move but are currently planning to stage the game as normal.
Staff at the club have been issued with medical guidelines in accordance with Public Heath in England and extra hand sanitizers and cleaning stations have been supplied throughout the stadium, training ground and hotel.
“The wellbeing of our staff and supporters is of our utmost concern and we are in constant dialogue with the relevant authorities regarding this ongoing situation,” a club spokesman said.
Source
The Cambridgeshire side are currently due to travel overnight on Friday to the North West where they are due to play Wanderers on Saturday.
The government are expected to confirm a move from the ‘contain’ phase of the virus action plan to the ‘delay’ phase – which could include social distancing measures which would prohibit large gatherings.
And that will heap pressure on the EFL to either suspend the competition or play games behind closed doors.
Speaking to BBC Cambridgeshire Sport, Ferguson said he was in favour of pausing the fixture list for the time being.
“I don’t see the value of playing behind closed doors,” he said. “The most important thing is the wellbeing of everyone. There really does need to be a stop to the season and there’s plenty of time to make the games up.
“When you play behind closed doors it’s not just about 22 players on the pitch, you have to have stewards, ball boys, ball girls, it’s not complete isolation. We’ve changed our travelling plans because we don’t want to be in a hotel too long.
“So we are travelling at night but the most important thing is there is a benefit to stopping now. Inevitably, they’re going to have to stop (playing). This thing isn’t going to go away overnight. The earlier they do it the better. But we will abide by whatever is done.”
Wanderers say they are waiting to hear from the footballing authorities before making their next move but are currently planning to stage the game as normal.
Staff at the club have been issued with medical guidelines in accordance with Public Heath in England and extra hand sanitizers and cleaning stations have been supplied throughout the stadium, training ground and hotel.
“The wellbeing of our staff and supporters is of our utmost concern and we are in constant dialogue with the relevant authorities regarding this ongoing situation,” a club spokesman said.
Source