Spurs fans on Twitter have been reacting to a report from the Mirror, which suggests that the government have instructed Premier League players to keep a social distance between themselves when the season resumes.
According to the Daily Mirror (via The Spurs Web), players have been instructed to socially distance on the field of play where possible, as the return of competitive sport in England was given the green light by the Government at the weekend. The Mirror includes a quote, which states:
“The advice came as the Government gave the go-ahead for ANY professional sport to take place behind closed doors from Monday – as long as it can satisfy a host of detailed demands.”
We have already seen the Bundesliga return in Germany, albeit with some socially distanced measures adhered to. Players on the bench sit two metres apart and celebrations have, at times, been socially distanced (per BBC). However, it seems very difficult for top-flight players to remain distanced throughout a 90-minute game, for example, players defending a free-kick will stand right next to each other.
Therefore, it seems unlikely that when the Premier League does resume later this month, we will see players socially distancing on the pitch all of the time. However, after the latest round of tests, in which there were no positive results from 1130 tests (per David Ornstein), it certainly seems as though football can return safely.
Do you think players will effectively be able to social distance on the pitch?
Yes
No
Reaction from Spurs fans to the report from the Mirror can be seen in the tweets below.
Surely that is a joke
— El Tel Hotspur (@ElHotspur) May 31, 2020
Void the league..
— Simon Day (@siday09) May 30, 2020
Other Spurs fans took the opportunity to joke about their defence socially distancing from each other at times and considering they have kept just four clean sheets in the top-flight so far this season, it is easy to understand why.
Good thing our defenders already do that
— Rickles (@burks_eric) May 30, 2020
Shouldn’t be a problem for Tottenham right now, it seems like they don’t play tight defense.
— Alfonso Frias (@AFrias81) May 30, 2020
Other fans just shared their frustrations with the reported news.
Is this a joke?
— Nick Thomas (@nickthomas62) May 30, 2020
Ree.Dic.Ulous.
— Spiggy (@SpiggyTope) May 30, 2020
Overall, it seems that a lot of fans aren’t impressed with the report from the Mirror and seem doubtful that players will effectively be able to socially distance when the Premier League does make its return.