The hefty index finger of a sixty-something in a Canada Goose jacket, the house brand of football supporters in England, presses awkwardly on the screen of the telephone. When his digital vaccination certificate appears on the display after some swearing, he triumphantly shows it to a security guard at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. „Thank you sir”, it sounds friendly. „Enjoy the match.” The Spurs play against Liverpool.
All visitors to the North London stadium meet the entry requirements without delay. For those who have not been vaccinated, a recovery certificate or a recent negative test is sufficient. Statistics for this are lacking, but club love has shown the willingness among doubters to make a ‘jab‘ sure to get positively impacted. According to the latest figures, the (double) vaccination rate among Britons above the age of twelve is 81.5 percent.
This percentage is considerably lower among professional football players. In the Premier League, 68 percent of them have received two shots. The English Football League (ELF), the three lower divisions, is less successful (59 percent). England is therefore one of the laggards in Europe. In the highest leagues in Italy (98 percent), Spain (93) and Germany (94), the advice of doctors and the government is much better followed.
Debt question
As a result, the question of blame for the outbreak of the Omikron variant at clubs in the Premier League is getting a different character. Not fate but the stubbornness of antivaxxers in the dressing rooms and in the dugouts is highlighted. The frustration about this remained indoors for a long time. After a week in which no less than ten games had to be postponed, board members, trainers and the media are targeting the ‘Covid fools’.
No one showed his anger more emphatically than Jürgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager. In his column in the program booklet for Thursday’s home game at Anfield against Newcastle United, he declared war on philosophers on social media. “It’s unbelievable how aggressive the anti-vaxxers are and how clear they are in their belief that they know everything better than the rest of us,” the German wrote.
Klopp called it a “moral obligation” for footballers to get vaccinated. Liverpool is one of the white ravens with Brentford. The players of both teams have received at least two injections. Nevertheless, the selections were not free from contamination. For example, Orange captain Virgil van Dijk did not play against Spurs on Sunday. He was in quarantine.
Unlike the general population, top English clubs were assisted by well-known doctors to educate their teams. Deputy medical officer Jonathan Van Tam, often present next to Prime Minister Boris Johnson at press conferences about corona, answered questions during a telephone conversation in which all captains took part. Experts came to training centers to provide explanations. Players’ union PFA supported the vaccination program.
disinformation
“The lies and misinformation,” as Klopp called the undercurrent on platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Telegram, are jeopardizing the Premier League’s progress. “It seems inevitable that players who turn down a shot and are unable to do their job properly will face further and harsher penalties,” Leeds United director Angus Kinnear wrote in a statement. The Sunday Times.
Current UK guidelines require unvaccinated individuals to self-isolate for 10 days if they come into contact with an infected person. Right away ‘double jabDaily testing is sufficient. The Omikron variant, more contagious than its predecessors, poses an acute danger to clubs. Withholding salary, as became possible after a change in the law in Germany, does not seem an option in the Premier League.
Clubs and their lawyers are going through the contracts with a dust comb to see if financial penalties can be introduced. Klopp, Eddie Howe (Newcastle United), Steven Gerrard (Aston Villa) and Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) have said they will not sign unvaccinated players. In addition, it is necessary to find out why the Premier League and the EFL seem prone to conspiracy theories.
The composition of the top English division, with a look at national statistics and surveys, can provide one explanation. Minorities are more skeptical about vaccines than other population groups. In January 2021, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) concluded that 72 percent of people of African or Caribbean background were unlikely to be vaccinated.
Black Britons are relatively overrepresented in the Premier League. The fear of being used as guinea pigs for an ‘experimental vaccine’ is strong among them. In the past, immigrants were abused for such medical purposes. Experiences with institutional racism in healthcare – for example, the black population receives fewer painkillers for identical complaints – play a role in this.
Since the names of the refusers are unknown due to privacy rules, this remains a suspicion. According to various sources, fueled by desperate administrators, the rumor of tales (among all ethnicities) is fueling mistrust. The heart complaints of Christian Eriksen, Victor Lindelöf and Sergio Agüero would all be attributed to the vaccine.
sleepers
Patience with the sleepers is running out. The Premier League will meet on Monday to discuss tightened measures to bring anti-vaxxers into line. In an attempt football on Boxing Day To save the day, clubs want to be able to train, travel and change separately. Social isolation as a means of pressure to save the season.
Heavy fines from the TV rights holders prevent clubs from calling a break to monitor the virus. During the lockdown in the 2019/20 season, the Premier League had to pay back more than a billion euros for not completing the 38 rounds in time. Without space in the overcrowded playing calendar, a shutdown threatens to cause such a scenario.
In the fight against therefuseniksKlopp has found an ally in the British media. Even The Daily Mail, not in favor of curtailing personal freedom, takes his side. “They owe it to the fans to get vaccinated. And to the vulnerable in society.” Such as the corpulent elderly person at the entrance of the stadium, where the game ended 2-2 on Sunday.
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