By now, we can spare ourselves too much of a recap. This wretched COVID-19 virus has wrought havoc across the globe and one of the very many consequences has been the cancellation of live sport, including Premier League football. Only this week, the National League that oversees all the UK’s non-league sides decided to scrap their season.
Ornstein’s piece for The Athletic makes for a compelling read, setting out the two opposing viewpoints over the morality of striving to wheel millionaires out to fulfil commercial obligations, at a time when most normal people are left wondering not just about their financial security, but their actual mortality.
As far as morality goes, I guess it’s down to each individual to decide what they view as agreeable or disagreeable in their own lives. Personally I find this unnamed CEO’s faux moral outrage very difficult to take seriously. Premier League clubs are brimming with unprecedented amounts of cash and yet their contributions to society are comparatively minuscule.
That said, the corporations who really ought to be in the firing line during these unprecedented times are those that have offloaded staff onto the dole queue without a second thought – and there are plenty of them *cough cough* Tim Martin.
Returning Premier League football, even behind closed doors would have a tangible benefit to not just the nation but the world. Worries over miscreant fans seeking to show up outside stadiums are surely dwarfed by the good mental health playing the games would have.
It is also difficult to imagine which fans would bother to embark upon such stupidity during a nationwide state of lockdown that would offer no pubs, no public TV screens – and the only guarantees being a swift arrest and an equally nasty fine.
English football needs to find a safe path through this dreadful minefield. Simply shouting “we can’t go while people are dying!” may be well-meaning, but ultimately, the two could be mutually exclusive.
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