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Wanderers are preparing to play games behind closed doors – and believe they can do so with fewer than 100 essential people in the stadium.
The club has confirmed it is now making provisions to follow the EFL’s wishes, if the league presses ahead with its idea to play games without supporters from June 6 to help complete the League One campaign during the coronavirus crisis.
Although some Premier League clubs estimate more than 300 people could be needed to fulfil a fixture, a Bolton spokesman confirmed to The Bolton News yesterday that they were working on a much lower figure.
Essential staff would include players and coaches from each side, medical personnel, security and media – the latter category being considerably higher in the case of top-flight clubs.
ESPN claimed earlier this week that one un-named Championship club was working on a figure of 166 people in a behind-closed-doors game.
The prospect of playing games without fans is not one that especially thrills Wanderers – who have also voiced concerns over the availability of COVID-19 testing kits, should players be brought back into competitive action.
“It would not be ideal for any club to have to play the games with no crowd, but if that’s what we are ordered to do then we will have to comply,” said CEO Emma Beaugeard.
Epidemiologist Dr Rowland Kao, from the University of Edinburgh, has also claimed that players wearing face masks during matches and training would be a “sensible precaution” to take to limit the spread of coronavirus.
Sporting competitions including the Premier League and the EFL have been in lockdown since March 13 and the whole nation is now formulating plans for how they could restart should the Government take the decision to relax certain restrictions, with the nation currently in lockdown until May 7 at least.
The EFL has given guidance to its clubs to consider a return to training no earlier than May 16, and Dr Kao has suggested that while the effectiveness of masks is still a subject for debate, it may be an idea for sports administrators to consider.
“Masks tend not to protect you but protect others,” he told the PA news agency.
“They prevent aerosol spray but leaves open (the risk of) fomite transmission – putting your hand to your mouth or your face and then wiping it somewhere else, like a doorknob.
“It’s unclear how much protection those masks would be, but it would seem sensible to put as many precautions as you could in place. If you have got 300-500 people coming together (for a match behind closed doors), there’s an opportunity for multiple infections to occur.”
West Ham chief executive Karren Brady suggested at the weekend that up to 500 people would be involved in the staging of a match behind closed doors.
The Premier League did not directly respond to Dr Kao’s comments on face masks, and will be guided by Government advice as and when there is the possibility of training or matches restarting.
World players’ union FIFPRO is in discussions over safety protocols at training and matches, including with the World Health Organisation.
The WHO’s current advice is that masks should only be worn by those who are sick and showing symptoms or those caring for people suspected to have coronavirus, and are not suitable for the general public because they can be contaminated by other people’s coughs and sneezes, or when putting them on or removing them.
The WHO is also concerned they may offer people a false sense of security.
However, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control says masks may help prevent the spread of infection from people who are contagious but not yet showing symptoms, particularly in a setting such as public transport or other busy spaces.
Source
The club has confirmed it is now making provisions to follow the EFL’s wishes, if the league presses ahead with its idea to play games without supporters from June 6 to help complete the League One campaign during the coronavirus crisis.
Although some Premier League clubs estimate more than 300 people could be needed to fulfil a fixture, a Bolton spokesman confirmed to The Bolton News yesterday that they were working on a much lower figure.
Essential staff would include players and coaches from each side, medical personnel, security and media – the latter category being considerably higher in the case of top-flight clubs.
ESPN claimed earlier this week that one un-named Championship club was working on a figure of 166 people in a behind-closed-doors game.
The prospect of playing games without fans is not one that especially thrills Wanderers – who have also voiced concerns over the availability of COVID-19 testing kits, should players be brought back into competitive action.
“It would not be ideal for any club to have to play the games with no crowd, but if that’s what we are ordered to do then we will have to comply,” said CEO Emma Beaugeard.
Epidemiologist Dr Rowland Kao, from the University of Edinburgh, has also claimed that players wearing face masks during matches and training would be a “sensible precaution” to take to limit the spread of coronavirus.
Sporting competitions including the Premier League and the EFL have been in lockdown since March 13 and the whole nation is now formulating plans for how they could restart should the Government take the decision to relax certain restrictions, with the nation currently in lockdown until May 7 at least.
The EFL has given guidance to its clubs to consider a return to training no earlier than May 16, and Dr Kao has suggested that while the effectiveness of masks is still a subject for debate, it may be an idea for sports administrators to consider.
“Masks tend not to protect you but protect others,” he told the PA news agency.
“They prevent aerosol spray but leaves open (the risk of) fomite transmission – putting your hand to your mouth or your face and then wiping it somewhere else, like a doorknob.
“It’s unclear how much protection those masks would be, but it would seem sensible to put as many precautions as you could in place. If you have got 300-500 people coming together (for a match behind closed doors), there’s an opportunity for multiple infections to occur.”
West Ham chief executive Karren Brady suggested at the weekend that up to 500 people would be involved in the staging of a match behind closed doors.
The Premier League did not directly respond to Dr Kao’s comments on face masks, and will be guided by Government advice as and when there is the possibility of training or matches restarting.
World players’ union FIFPRO is in discussions over safety protocols at training and matches, including with the World Health Organisation.
The WHO’s current advice is that masks should only be worn by those who are sick and showing symptoms or those caring for people suspected to have coronavirus, and are not suitable for the general public because they can be contaminated by other people’s coughs and sneezes, or when putting them on or removing them.
The WHO is also concerned they may offer people a false sense of security.
However, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control says masks may help prevent the spread of infection from people who are contagious but not yet showing symptoms, particularly in a setting such as public transport or other busy spaces.
Source