Bruno Lage manager
Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Bruno Lage has joined Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp and Aston Villa’s Steven Gerrard in the camp of advocating full vaccination of players and staff in football amid Omicron rise.
Bruno Lage said: “We have a responsibility to keep ourselves and others safe, so when the players and staff were offered a booster jab, it was a simple decision for us.”
Alongside Lage, both Klopp and Gerrard are huge advocates of getting fully jabbed, and with the January transfer window fast approaching, both have made their views clear regarding their unwillingness in signing an unvaccinated player.
Jurgen Klopp said: “I think it (being vaccinated) will be influential, definitely, in who clubs sign. If a player is not vaccinated at all, he is a constant threat for all of us. ‘He doesn’t want to be a threat, it’s not that he thinks ‘I don’t care about the others’ but he is.”
Steven Gerrard said: “We’re very thorough and detailed in terms of our recruitment process and we look at everything, so I’m sure it’ll come up. It would certainly come into conversations in the background. We’ll go across it with a fine-tooth comb. I think there are conversations going on in the background between the Premier League and the clubs. Things could change in terms of maybe testing more in the near future due to the increase in cases of the new variants that are moving around. Everyone has to be ready, because this Covid situation looks like it’s going downhill rather than going in a positive direction. Everyone has been reminded of the protocols and guidelines that are in place. We obviously want to protect ourselves, our families and the wider public by following the instructions.”
However, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has come under scrutiny for not being tougher in his stance compared to other Premier League managers, as referenced by his recent comments.
Thomas Tuchel said: “I mean you can have an opinion, I can have an opinion but a player can also have an opinion. Then there can be regulations around this, like when you arrive at work your employer can create an environment where you are not allowed to be in the building if you are not vaccinated. This can happen so you have to adapt to it and you have to live with the consequences. But we cannot force people to get vaccinated and I will not change my opinion on that. I am not the guy to comment on that, I am not the expert here. There are experts in this country, all over the rest of Europe. Ask them and ask me please about football. I will not get involved. I am vaccinated. I made the decision for me and that’s it. You know that it’s causing an issue. But it’s not that we have all unvaccinated infected. We have vaccinated players who are positive. I don’t want to get involved in pointing fingers and starting the hunt for non-vaccinated people. This is a choice to make. Leave it there.”
The comments came before two Boxing Day clashes have already been postponed due to more Covid cases in Leeds and Watford squad respectively, ahead of both sides fixtures against Liverpool and Wolves. As it stands, Aston Villa vs Chelsea is going ahead but as with any ever-changing situation, things could change over the next 48 hours.
