I’m gonna start with my take on the worldwide panic that is coronavirus.
Firstly, before the impact it’s having on football, why the hell is everyone freaking out?
Yes, it must be “contained”, that’s a given, that’s how outbreaks of this sort are ended.
But surely this media-driven hysteria is uncalled for?
The stats are as follows. If you are the unlucky person in a million, you then only have a three percent chance of kicking the bucket.
I mean, wow, there’s 10s of 1000s of people walking around the Western Cape with TB, which is the leading cause of death in this country, why no panic there?
When West Africans were being eaten alive by Ebola, didn’t see hordes of umlungus cleaning out toilet paper and hand sanitisers?
And that was just up the road on our continent.
I tell you what’s going on Corona is big in Europe.
So, that leads me to the cancellation of football.
Mind you, if my boss decides that we should all work from home for the next few weeks, I’d gladly oblige.
But yeah, Uefa has called an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss whether the Champions League, Europa League and Euro 2020 can continue to be played.
Reports say the Champions League and Europa League could be immediately suspended. A statement from Uefa said: “Discussions will include all domestic and European competitions, including Uefa Euro 2020. Further communication will be made following the meetings.”
The craziness of the situation saw football players not shaking hands, while full-contact Six Nations rugby continued?
Players were jumping all over each other and high-fiving following a goal?
WTF. Either it’s dangerous or not?
The other madness is seeing 10s of 1000s of fans pitching up outside stadiums where games are being played “behind closed doors”.
It was Bill Shankly, who famously said: “Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I don’t like that attitude.I can assure them it is much more serious than that”.
Haha, there you go, still holds water!
With more and more players (and coaches) coming out as virus carriers, I guess the only way to halt the Covid-19 march was to suspend football, given the amount of travelling they do, but what happens next?
Well, nobody knows yet.
CONTACT SPORT: England's Joe Marler against Wales. Picture: Toby Melville/Reuters.
In Spain, they say they’ll be coming up with a “points formula” to conclude their season, something like cricket’s Duckworth Lewis system, but is that entirely fair?
And what the hell is the alternative? I’m of the idea that we should wait a while.
The Premier League is supposed to resume on April 3, giving the isolation period enough time to work out who’s infected, but what happens if some teams have many players ill? Perhaps the target date will be extended?
If so, and given the great decline of infections in China, perhaps within a month we’d be in the clear.
Then we could restart the league and finish it some time in May or June.
Of course, the Euros would need to be cancelled. But this would allow for a fair conclusion to the leagues.
Many people are calling for the league to be voided.
This would, of course, be incredibly painful for the likes of Liverpool and Leeds (who are at the top of the Championship).
Handing them the titles would also come under incredible scrutiny.
Yes, Liverpool will no doubt have won it, BUT, they’ve lost 4 out of their last 5 games.
So, the unfinished title would be made to look even thinner and never truly be considered “real”.
It’s a complete mess.
On a personal note, I’m not really worried about it. I’ve got about four rolls of toilet paper and a bar of soap at home.
Thankfully for us (in SA) it looks like government is taking strong action.
PSL football in Cape Town should be allowed to continue considering the instruction banning “gatherings of more than 100 people”.
Thoughts go out for those who have lost loved ones around the world.