Sports Burst - Soccer: To Start or Stop?
A debate bigger than Messi or Ronaldo brewing over whether soccer needs to restart or remain on pause
By Tim Stannard/beIN SPORTS USA
Bundesliga to announce plans for restart in May while others cannot see safe short term of return of soccer
The now 78-year long debate over who is better between Messi and Ronaldo is set to be overtaken by a discussion that is even bigger. And actually matters.
That debate is whether soccer needs to get back into business as soon as possible or take a step back and wait until the coronavirus is properly out of the world's system and under control, no matter how long that takes.
Leading the 'let's go for it' camp, it's Germany's Bundesliga.
Clubs are meeting today to firm up protocols for a restart in the middle of May. These guidelines will include no fans, just 300 players and support staff allowed in and outside the stadiums that are divided into three zones that will only allow 100 in each area.
And testing. A lot of testing. Tens of thousands of tests needed to constantly monitor players, officials, and those involved with the games. All this at a time when coronavirus tests are at a premium everywhere, even in a notably well-prepared Germany.
These proposals are set to be discussed on the 30th April by the German government and the country's 16 federal states and the go-ahead looks likely, judging by the comments from Markus Soder, the state premier of Bavaria.
"I could picture to have matches behind closed doors," said Soder remarking that a weekend of soccer to watch makes being stuck at home more bearable.
The argument for a restart if the powers that be say so are obvious. Clubs that have survived for a century could go bankrupt if the shutdown continues and the simple reason highlighted by Soder that people need sport to get them through some pretty dark times.
However, the situation is very different in many other nations across the world. While children are only just being let out of their houses in Spain - for only an hour and only one mile from their homes - it is hard to see how soccer can safely be permitted to restart.
That is certainly the feeling of players unions across countries who are concerned both about their members' own safety and also potentially having to play every three days through summer to complete a season.
West Ham United manager, David Moyes, echoes these concerns saying that some clubs doubt whether any kind of return to normalcy is possible in the short term. "We've got to realize there are a lot of people whose lives we could be putting at risk," said Moyes.
The Sports Burst live show will bring the latest news from the Bundesliga today along with everything else at 12PM ET / 9AM PT on our beIN SPORTS USA Facebook page, Youtube channel and the free-of-charge, 24/7 sports channel beIN SPORTS XTRA.
And the Sports Burst PM show has a special live guest with Ethan Finlay of Minnesota United and USMNT joining us at 7PM ET / 4PM PT on beIN SPORTS.
No fans in the stands, no more mega deals - soccer's new realities
The reality of what everything will look like when soccer is able to return is starting to take shape.
Many nations have already declared that large gatherings will be impossible until 2021 when a vaccine against COVID-19 will potentially be widely available. That means empty stadiums for the foreseeable future.
Reported comments from Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, are also a warning as to how the transfer market is going to look for many clubs with a huge income stream having been turned off. "Forget signings like up to now. Think about youth players and getting loan players back," said Tebas.
It's a reality confirmed by Richard Motzkin, VP of Wasserman Media, to beIN SPORTS on Wednesday's edition of Sports Burst PM. "Until the world bounces back from (the recession) it's going to impact everything including transfer fees," said the leading sports marketing executive predicting that $100 million deals are over in the short term until the big clubs can return to a firmer financial footing.
Former Manchester United defender, Gary Neville, who is co-owner of Salford City in England's third tier has advised soccer players in the lower leagues of the game to think about training in new careers to plan for the worst. "It's going to be very difficult to secure contracts with football cuts in the next 18 months because clubs are going to find it very difficult to pay," warned Neville.