COVID-19: FIFA’s chief doctor warns against restarting football soon

Michel d’Hooghe, chief doctor of FIFA, world soccer governing body, has warned against the return of football anytime soon due to the continuous threat of COVID-19.

D’Hooghe, who doubles as chairman of FIFA’s medical committee, gave the warning during an interview with BBC Sport.

He also suggested that governing bodies should rather prepare for action next season because “there is a risk and it is not a risk that has small consequences.”

“My proposal is if it is possible, avoid playing competitive football in the coming weeks. Try to be prepared for the start of good competition next season,” he said.

European football is presently suspended due to the monumental effects of the pandemic on the continent especially in Italy, Spain, England, France and Germany — countries with the most competitive leagues.

A drop in number of new cases has been recorded in some of these nations recently and this has prompted resumed talks of finishing the 2019/2020 league season.

Consequently, some clubs in England have resumed training, while those in Italy would resume in early May with a view to continue the season, a situation d’Hooghe believes could have “life and death” consequences from a medical standpoint.

“It can have consequences of life and death and that is why I am so careful and I ask everyone to be very careful before deciding to play again,” the Belgian warned.

“I speak as a medical doctor, I don’t have to speak as an organizer of matches, but for the moment from my medical standpoint I would be very skeptical.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) has advised people to practice social distancing and avoid nasal droplets, among many other preventive measures, in a bid to stop spread of the novel coronavirus.

These two measures could be difficult to practice in football, a contact sport, prompting d’Hooghe to suggest the need to enact hygienic rules while waiting for a vaccine against the disease.

“How will you avoid direct contact?,” the doctor quipped.

“For the moment the criteria means it is absolutely difficult to say that we can play competitive football and believe me I regret it profoundly because I am a football man.

“I am a little bit afraid that to have a complete solution, we will have to wait until we have a vaccination programme, but I think the time has come now to think of some hygienic rules. For instance to avoid spitting, why do we have to see that in football and not other sports? This is one of the things we have to consider because this is a real danger in the future.”

TheCable had reported how Edouard Philippe, prime minister of France, outlawed professional football in the country until at least September due to the coronavirus pandemic, while the Dutch league season was also earlier cancelled.