Today it was announced that Nottingham Forest’s owner Evangelos Marinakis has Coronavirus, putting further pressure on the footballing world, and raising questions about whether games will be postponed, or played behind closed doors. On top of this, it was also announced that Macclesfield have been charged with misconduct after failing to pay their players on time.
The problem of Coronavirus is spiralling. European fixtures are starting to be either postponed or played behind closed doors, and now the entire of Italy is under lockdown. In the UK, more cases of the virus are being counted, and the Nottingham Forest owner has now been confirmed to have the virus. Mr Marinakis has been found to be suffering with the virus in Greece, however he had spent the previous few days in England. So what does this mean for sport, or more specifically, for us Walsall fans.
Yesterday, ministers stated that they wouldn’t be cancelling large gatherings. However with another death, and more new cases, it will no doubt be a topic that will be brought up again and again. I can see the postponement of games, or fans being unable to attend as a prospect that becomes more likely by the day.
If games are postponed, or played behind closed doors, then clubs will suffer massively with the financial loss, and those that will suffer the most, are those further down the football pyramid. For me, if games do have to take place behind closed doors, then there should be the opportunity to watch from home, to allow clubs to not lose as much money, and allow fans to see their team play. I feel that it won’t be long until sport events in the UK become affected by the virus.
Then we have the Macclesfield issue. After once again failing to pay players, we could very well see players going on strike, or the league itself calling the game off, as has previously happened in this type of situation. It adds a lot of uncertainty for Macclesfield’s football league status, who could see a further points deduction. They will be battling for every point they can, to keep ahead of Stevenage. It will certainly be interesting to see how it all pans out at the weekend, with such a difficult week for Macclesfield. It does seem that this issue has been brought up as we get set to play them once again. It has been a tough season for the Silkmen, and it does appear that the issues will continue to play their part after the end of the season.
My final comment, stay safe folks, and keep an eye out on the news, and let us hope that the remaining 10 fixtures do not get affected.
