Coronavirus: No game 'worth risking a single human life'
Fifa boss stresses sport cannot resume too soon, assures associations of financial support
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GIANNI INFANTINO, Fifa president.
PHOTO: REUTERS
ZURICH • Fifa president Gianni Infantino has warned against restarting football too early amid the coronavirus pandemic, telling Fifa's 211 member associations that such behaviour would be irresponsible.
Football around the world has come to a standstill with domestic leagues on hold and major tournaments such as Euro 2020 and South America's Copa America postponed for a year.
"Our first priority, our principle, the one we will use for our competitions and encourage everyone to follow is that health comes first," Infantino said in a statement on Friday. "I cannot stress this enough.
"No match, no competition, no league is worth risking a single human life."
The German Bundesliga reportedly could restart behind closed doors in May, with players already back in training, while other leagues could also resume in the summer. In some countries there are disagreements over whether players should face pay cuts.
Infantino said that national football associations which are struggling financially would receive help from Fifa's emergency relief fund. It is understood that Fifa has a US$2.7 billion (S$3.82 billion) cash reserve.
He also reiterated that the sport's world governing body was assessing the financial impact of the stoppage so it could prepare the right response.
"You have to know that we will be there and we will find solutions together," he said. "You will never be alone… (and) the world will know where the money goes and, equally important, why the money goes there.
"If football manages to have a discussion where everyone contributes positively, and keeps in mind the global interest over the individual one, I am convinced our future can be better than our past, and we will be better prepared for the times ahead."
The 50-year-old Swiss-Italian lawyer had earlier suggested that football will be totally different when it eventually resumes.
"Football will come back, and when it does, we'll celebrate coming out of a nightmare together," he told the Italian news agency Ansa on Thursday.
"There is one lesson, however, that both you and me must have understood: the football that will come after the virus will be totally different… (more) inclusive, more social and more supportive, connected to the individual countries and at the same time more global, less arrogant and more welcoming."
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
