Covid-19: Continuation of football in England 'not wise', says Rochdale club doctor
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Rochdale' game against Crewe on Tuesday is among seven League One matches called off because of Covid-19
Allowing English football to continue when there is "growing concern" at Covid-19 infection rates in the country "is not wise", a club doctor has said.
On Monday, a record 41,385 Covid cases and 357 deaths were reported in the UK.
Coronavirus outbreaks at clubs has seen seven of Tuesday's 12 scheduled League One games postponed, while Manchester City's Premier League match at Everton on Monday was also called off.
"Should the season still be going on?" said Dr Wes Tensel, Rochdale's medic.
"In the middle of a pandemic and the spread and all that's going on - the numbers are rising - and the fact that we've got these tier four places where people can't travel but footballers can go in and out and take things back to their family, I think it's probably not the wisest thing at the moment.
"The players are human like everyone else."
Dr Tensel, a GP in Leigh, Greater Manchester, who also works as a matchday doctor for League One side Rochdale, has spent time on the NHS frontline after taking on shifts at Leigh Infirmary earlier this year.
Rochdale's festive fixtures have been hit hard by the pandemic, with their Boxing Day match at Blackpool as well as home games against Crewe on Tuesday and MK Dons on Saturday called off because first-team staff and players are self-isolating.
All elite levels of English football have been affected by Covid-19 postponements over the past week, with games in the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two, as well as National League and Women's Super League, being hit.
While Dr Tensel knows there are players who are willing to "downplay things and say let's crack on", he said there are others who "are more cautious" and concerned for those around them who are not involved in the game.
"These players are put under pressure to come out and perform when deep down they may have serious concerns, you know they've got young kids, family members, elderly relatives," Dr Tensel told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"I have helped out on Covid wards so I am seeing both sides and it just seems that there's a bigger picture.
"There's lots of other careers and jobs where people are unable to work, people in the arts, people being furloughed. So why should football go on when they can't and the disease is still spreading at the rate it's spreading?"
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