Premier League return talks came too soon, says Moyes

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Premier League return talks came too soon, says Moyes

 

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - West Ham United v Southampton - London Stadium, London, Britain - February 29, 2020 West Ham United manager David Moyes reacts REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

 

(Reuters) - West Ham United manager David Moyes has said it was the wrong time to discuss resuming the Premier League season when the United Kingdom was still gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Professional soccer in England has been suspended since March due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, which has caused over 41,000 deaths in the UK.

 

The government last month opened the door for elite sport to resume and the Premier League said it would restart its season on June 17.

"At the start of all this I thought integrity was being used in the wrong way," Moyes told the Times.

 

"Some of the debate about coming back to football when there were so many people dying in hospitals and care homes. I thought it was the wrong time to be discussing the integrity of some football games. We had to wait for the right time."

 

All 20 Premier League clubs on Thursday approved a range of matchday protocols for the season's resumption but Moyes says there are lots of questions that still need to be answered.

 

"Has the bus driver been tested? If we are flying, has everyone been tested, when and by who? I don’t think we’ll get all the answers but we have to get on with it," he added.

 

West Ham, 16th in the league, will resume their campaign against Wolverhampton Wanderers on June 20.

 

(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-06-15

 

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[owl sees all]

Bending over backwards to give Liverpool the title. If it had been West Ham, Man City or Everton going for the EPL perhaps they wouldn't be in such a rush to get back.

[mrbojangles]

1 hour ago, owl sees all said:

Bending over backwards to give Liverpool the title. If it had been West Ham, Man City or Everton going for the EPL perhaps they wouldn't be in such a rush to get back.

 

I think it's more of a case of them trying to not lose too much money in TV and sponsorship. If the cancel the season Sky could cut the TV money and shirt sponsors etc could cut their deals

[Orton Rd]

Will there be BLM on the shirts and all taking the knee before kick off?

[cyril sneer]

1 minute ago, Orton Rd said:

Will there be BLM on the shirts and all taking the knee before kick off?

imagine the carnage if there isn't

[wilai]

29 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

Will there be BLM on the shirts and all taking the knee before kick off?

BLM or something similar will replace Player's names on the reverse of the shirts I think. Think they will also take the knee. Some clubs have already done that before training matches.

[twocatsmac]

1 hour ago, Orton Rd said:

Will there be BLM on the shirts and all taking the knee before kick off?

The drama queens will be out in full force knowing the worlds cameras are rolling.

Sport should have no connections with politics,  let them have their knee show and draw a line under it.

[mrbojangles]

1 hour ago, twocatsmac said:

Sport should have no connections with politics,  let them have their knee show and draw a line under it.

 

Yep. Totally agree

[ratcatcher]

5 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Bending over backwards to give Liverpool the title. If it had been West Ham, Man City or Everton going for the EPL perhaps they wouldn't be in such a rush to get back.

Bending over backwards one minute, taking a knee the next. Sounds like a workout to me.

[JonnyF]

Of course, Moyes' view has nothing to do with West Ham being out of the relegation zone by the skin of their teeth (on goal difference) and wanting to finish the season now before they get sucked into the bottom 3 and him suffering another relegation.

[xylophone]

4 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

Will there be BLM on the shirts and all taking the knee before kick off?

No but I could have a BLT sandwich prior to kick off!!