THOUGH “elite” football continues amid increased Covid-19 measures across the UK, an increasing number of games are having to be postponed due to cases of coronavirus at some clubs.

Regular testing at elite level means even asymptomatic cases are spotted, and positive cases have increased since several teams and players appear to have relaxed their rules during the Christmas period.

Naturally, the highest profile incidents have occurred in the Premier League and more recently, the Women’s Super League.

Tomorrow’s Women’s Super League game between Arsenal and Aston Villa has been postponed after a player tested positive for Covid-19 and meant several others had to self-isolate.

This comes after three Arsenal players visited Dubai during the Christmas break, one being the player who tested positive.

There has been a similar case at Manchester City whose game against West Ham is off after four City players tested positive on their return from a trip to the United Arab Emirates.

In the men’s game, a number of Premier League players met in groups or hosted parties over the festive period. Games involving Manchester City, Fulham and Tottenham had to be postponed, and players from each club had mixed with other households over Christmas.

The actions of the players and clubs’ failure to control their staff have been widely criticised, but given the mixed messages from the UK government in the build-up to Christmas 2020, it’s little surprise that incidents like this have occurred across the country.

Little more than a week before December 25, the government was still running with the message that Covid guidelines would be relaxed and up to three separate households or support bubbles would be able to mix during the festive period.

This increased mixing was to be permitted between December 23 and 27 and went against the advice of health professionals who warned it would lead to a surge in cases in January, putting more pressure on the NHS and its staff.

On top of this, the idea that Covid restrictions would be relaxed for the days around Christmas had been mooted publicly by the government for months, especially during the previous attempt at a lockdown in November.

The government eventually introduced stricter measures, but only put them in place on December 20, by which time it was too late to get the message across fully and lots of people had already made plans.

Many across the country will have still been unsure of the guidelines once Christmas arrived, and this is typical of the ambiguous official messaging put out by the government during this crisis.

There is no doubt that elite football clubs and the players in question should be handling this better, especially given the relatively privileged position they find themselves in at this time. 

They should also be supporting their colleagues, many of whom are also making sacrifices, unable to see friends and family as a result of having to remain in the elite football bubble.

These clubs and their players are allowed to carry on working and undergo regular testing. They have plenty of advantages which people in other lines of work don’t have.

After all, even though they might not be allowed to mix between households like everyone else, players are still able to socialise with their teammates in training and play football on a regular basis — something many amateur, junior and leisure sportspeople across the country are now unable to do. 

This lack of sporting activity can lead to a decline in physical fitness and mental wellbeing so, in this regard, elite footballers are in a fortunate position.

It could be said that the clubs themselves should have taken more responsibility, and it’s likely this will happen in the coming weeks, with harsher sanctions for those who don’t adhere to guidelines and put their colleagues at risk. Their actions, in turn, can also affect many others in the industry, and leave supporters unable to watch their team on TV.

But the rise in cases in elite football merely reflects the rise in cases across the country, and the reason for this comes back to government failures and mixed messages in the build-up to Christmas.

Though the footballers in question should consider how their careless actions affect colleagues, fans and above all how they risk spreading a potentially deadly virus, this rise in cases at the start of 2021 was predicted by health professionals across the country based on how badly the government was handling things, and it is the government, above all, which should be held accountable.