Those in government and our authorities will decide what we do...
Crewe Alexandra manager David Artell says that any action that the club takes over the outbreak of the coronavirus will be governed by the authorities. The EFL announced on Friday morning that all football fixtures would be postponed until April 3rd at the earliest and Artell says that we will continue to train until told otherwise by the government or football’s ruling bodies.
Crewe’s matches against Mansfield, Colchester, Forest Green Rovers and Port Vale have been postponed and will need to be re-arranged.
The Crewe Alexandra boss told the club’s official website: “Those in government, the FA and the EFL will dictate what we need to do. People’s lives are at risk and that will always be more important than football.
“We have been kept up-to-date by our club doctor and we have taken precautions for over three weeks. We didn’t shake hands at Morecambe following the advice he gave us that morning. The referee looked at it me at that time if I had two heads, but I was insistent and he accepted it. The doctor was right because it was just in its infancy then.
“We have had things in place at the training ground and at the stadium and we have a plan if the players have to self-isolated. They will have to complete programmes at home.
“It is all day-to-day and things change all the time but all we can do is carry on until told otherwise by the experts.
“I am not sure if going to football grounds in the open air is as contagious as 10,000 Tottenham fans travelling on the tube on a Saturday morning and I get that. We accept it because lives are at risk and we have to take what it takes to eradicate it.
The boss added: “There will be a lot of questions about the season and where we go from here but we can only do what we can do and keep going until told otherwise. There will be many things on the agenda when they meet again this week.”