Why are we more sorry for footballers than factory workers: Ex-England star John Barnes
Former Liverpool captain and England international John Barnes believes that the Premier League "should resume only if it is safe to do so." Speaking to WION, he also questioned why people were eager to restart football when thousands of workers have lost their jobs.
"Thousands of people, who are not footballers and don't work in the football industry, have lost their jobs. So why are we separating football from the rest of society? Why are we feeling more sorry for footballers as opposed to factory workers? It's not just important for footballers to get back to action, it is important for all of us to get back to our lives."
He also felt that the plight of players lower in the pyramid will have to be considered as they cannot sustain themselves for long without getting back to work. "Players in the lower divisions are struggling, but Premier League footballers can probably financially sustain themselves for the next year without getting back to work," Barnes added.
"Whereas most people in the world, who do not have such high-paying jobs, cannot afford to do that. The most important thing is to be relatively safe from the coronavirus. Eventually, we will have to get back to some sort of normality and that will be when the health risks involved in playing football are mitigated to a certain extent. Once we get used to the new normal, then we will adapt to the circumstances, that is how human beings have survived."
The Bundesliga has set the precedent for playing matches behind closed doors, which both the English and Spanish top-tier football will follow in the coming weeks. The lack of spectators has generated curiosity about the 'home advantage'. The leagues have come with a proposal to complete the season in neutral venues that have stirred debate.
Barnes believes that the advantage of playing at home is not just limited to having the fans on your side, it is also about being in a comfortable environment. "If the fans are not present in the stadium, the home team will still have an advantage because players will be familiar with the dressing room, the pitch and so on. They have a routine which they follow on a home match day since they are coming from their own houses and not from a team hotel," he explained.
"There are some who feel that if matches are held at home stadiums, fans will congregate around those arenas during and after the matches, which will defeat the purpose of holding games behind closed doors. This is again a problem that you will probably see only in the UK and US."