Government warn footballers over ‘avoidable’ goal celebrations
Players have been seen grouping together after goals and at full-time in games
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Footballers have been warned by England's deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam to stop “avoidable” contact made during goal celebrations.
Players have often been seen grouping together to celebrate after scoring, while also embracing opponents at full-time.
Football has come under pressure recently with instances of players breaching Covid-19 protocol, such as Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze attending a match at former club QPR, and scenes last weekend with teams celebrating FA Cup victories.
And Professor Van-Tam has suggested players should avoid unnecessary contact during games because the UK is in a “dangerous place”.
Asked if was time to issue "no kissing" advice, Professor Van-Tam told LBC Radio: "I completely agree with you."
He added: "We cannot relax until we have a very substantially vaccinated population. Until then we are in a dangerous place - if you look at the NHS, we are in a dangerous place now.
"Every close human contact that is avoidable should be avoided because one-in-three of us will get the infection and have no symptoms at all.
“So, I'm afraid, yes, on the football point, on the sporting point, I do agree with you.”
Discussion has already taken place about whether football should continue, with Steve Bruce claiming “morally, for me, it’s probably wrong”.
Several postponements in recent weeks have also put additional strain on the sport with little room in the calendar to accommodate many more rearranged fixtures.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments