Referees cannot book players for breaking Covid protocols

[ASFN Admin]

Premier League referees, and their Football League peers, will not be able to book players for close-contact celebrations or hugging opponents — both of which break Covid-19 protocols — but clubs have been told their behaviour will be monitored from the stands this week. The laws of the game do not offer any scope for players to be punished for hugging one another, even though the Premier League issued a toughened-up list of protocols on Friday calling on teams to show restraint especially when greeting friends on opposing teams. They warned the clubs that they should “avoid unnecessary contact at all times” including “handshakes and hugging” between opposing teams. The Premier League and the Football League are concerned that players and clubs have not listened as closely as they should have done in recent weeks with the infection rate spiking across the country and the threat of tougher lockdown measures. The government is not about to withdraw elite sport’s right to carry on during the lockdown but football has been left in no doubt that it is not a privilege it can take for granted. Compliance officers from the Premier League, who have access to check Covid-19 protocols at training grounds and on matchdays at stadiums, will observe clubs and report. This week managers and captains will be reminded to keep celebrations and the embracing of opponents to a minimum, when the referees and assistants meet them pre-match for the exchanges of team sheets. No shirt swapping is permitted, which is usually less of an issue in the Premier League. The FA Cup third round tie between Aston Villa young players and Liverpool’s star names on Friday night fell foul of the shirt-swapping rule. Subsequent games involving famous clubs against lesser lights saw the former sending laundered shirts to Cup opponents rather than players exchanging them on the pitch. Both Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham organised for their non-league opposition to be sent matchshirts. Referees have always been empowered to send off a player for spitting at an opponent. Any player that spits in the direction of an opponent will now be warned.

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