As football comes to terms with the ruins of this weekend's fixture list, it is time that the players who are still refusing to be vaccinated against Covid-19 were told a few home truths.

It is time, frankly, to tell them to grow up and stop listening to the mish-mash of old wives' tales and conspiracy theories that have infected their thinking. It is time they were told to take a long hard look at themselves and take some responsibility.
It was easy to detect a sense of growing impatience in the words of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp last week when he wrote about the issue in his programme notes for the match against Newcastle United.

'Ignore those who pretend to know,' he wrote. 'Ignore lies and misinformation. Listen to people who know best. If you do, you end up wanting the vaccine and the booster.'
Not for the first time, English football owes a debt of gratitude to Klopp. Klopp spoke for many of us when he articulated those feelings.
There are not too many among his number who have had the courage to tell it like it is because, unfortunately, the truth attracts blow-back from cranks who would rather believe unfounded rumours peddled by fools on social media than the opinion of eminent scientists.
That means that on BBC Radio 5 Live on Saturday, even an experienced host like Mark Chapman had to apologise for asking an ex-footballer whether current footballers should get the jab because he was worried about exposing him to criticism.
The England manager, Gareth Southgate, was deluged with abuse when he advocated vaccinations. Science and common sense are being shouted down by idiots.
The two rumours that still appear to be rife in Premier League and Football League dressing rooms are, first, that vaccinations are the reason Christian Eriksen suffered cardiac arrest at the Euros last summer, they are the reason Victor Lindelof complained of chest pains, they are the reason Sergio Aguero retired and that they are generally behind an increase in the incidence of players who have collapsed on the pitch in recent months.
That rumour is false. It is gobbledegook. It has been debunked by scientists. For a start, the doctor at Inter Milan, where Eriksen played his club football, has already revealed that Eriksen had not been vaccinated against Covid so even the conspiracy theorists will be hard pushed to maintain that particular argument.
The wider truth is, actually, that fewer footballers are exhibiting heart issues this season than in the seasons that came before the pandemic.
Some footballers, it seems, would rather believe fake news than facts but as an Irish Times colleague pointed out recently, a study published last December in the British Journal of Sports found 475 instances of football-related sudden cardiac death across 67 countries, with a further 142 cases where a player suffered a cardiac arrest but survived.
Last month, Agence France-Presse asked the lead author of that study, Dr Florian Egger, to comment on Facebook reports of a surge in cardiac problems among players since the introduction of Covid vaccines.
He said even if the Facebook allegations about the number of incidents this year were to be accepted, 'there would still be fewer heart emergencies in football than in the pre-Corona year of 2018… there are no more deaths among footballers than before the Covid-19 pandemic.'
The other rumour prejudicing impressionable footballers against the vaccine is that their fertility will be affected. Again, this is laughably inaccurate, alarmist and irresponsible. It is far more likely that catching Covid, rather than being protected against it, will affect fertility.
'There is evidence to suggest that infection with SARS-CoV-2 has the potential to impact both male fertility, female fertility, and certainly the health of a pregnancy of someone infected,' said Dr Jennifer Kawwass, a reproductive endocrinologist and associate professor at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
'And there is simultaneously no evidence that the vaccine has any negative impact on male or female fertility.'
Even in the fact of overwhelming evidence of its efficacy, it would be wrong to force players to be vaccinated. That cannot be allowed to happen in a civilised society but the time has come now where the Premier League and the Football League have to start adopting a more hard-line attitude towards players who refuse to be vaccinated just as other professional leagues like the NBA have done.
Why should players be treated any differently to fans when it comes to gaining access to a football stadium? I had to show a Covid pass on my phone on Saturday when I arrived at Elland Road for Leeds United’s match against Arsenal. Fans had to do the same to get into the ground. Why should a player not have to show the same proof of vaccination?
The idea that footballers should somehow be treated differently to the rest of the football population is untenable, particularly when supporters are being treated like dirt by the Premier League in particular. Fans are arriving at stadiums to be told games have been cancelled at short notice, in part because players are refusing to be vaccinated and teams are being decimated by Covid outbreaks.
The Premier League, sadly, has become complicit in this mess. It is dancing around the vaccination issue, refusing to issue figures about what percentage of players have had their jabs and their booster and hiding the details behind postponements. That has to stop. They have to ask players to start taking responsibility for the health of those around them and the future of the game.
Employment law in this country militates against clubs docking players’ wages if they refuse to be vaccinated but we have surely reached a point now where our footballers have to be told that if they continue to dismiss the well-being of their team-mates and other club employees, as well as the health of the game, then they will have to train alone and will not be considered for selection.
Some managers like Newcastle’s Eddie Howe have already said that the issue of whether a player has been vaccinated or not will enter into the club’s thinking when they are deciding who to sign in the January transfer window. It is hard to argue with that logic. Why sign a player who could effectively sabotage the health of those around him and the club’s ability to fulfil its fixtures?
Perhaps the weight of evidence in favour of being vaccinated will begin to persuade even the most recalcitrant of players to reconsider their refusals.
Perhaps the fact that Joshua Kimmich, one of the best players in Europe, caught Covid after refusing to be vaccinated and has now developed a lung problem that will keep him out until next month, will prompt some to rethink. Kimmich now says he wishes that he had been vaccinated.
Vaccination is not a panacea for football and footballers. It does not prevent infection. But the science says that those who are fully vaccinated are far less likely to infect others than those who have refused to be vaccinated.
They are also, as an aside, less likely to fill hospital wards and prevent those suffering from other illnesses from getting treatment.
It is time for the hold-outs in English football to wake up. The chaos of this weekend was more evidence that players owe it to the game to be vaccinated.
They owe it to the fans to be vaccinated. They owe it to the vulnerable around them in society to be vaccinated. And, as Kimmich is discovering, they owe it to themselves.
BayuPermanaPutra
0
stupid player who doesnt get covid vaccine must got their salary reduced by 50%
you better read the article first, dont jump into comment section after read the title
vezcmnrz
2
Science and common sense are being shouted down by idiots here.
kolonegooner
1
To no ends these fools still trying to convince ppl that the 💉 is for good and we should shut up and obey orders.... 😁😁😁😁😁 ... you can mine and all the doctors who've denounced it .... I stand with natural immunity .... You ho on keep getting the booster bc its good for your body mechanics .... Stupid is as Stupid does.
jusnstz
1
in ten years most of us will die whether we take the vaccine or not some of other illnesses and old age so stop the damn foolishness.when I read some these responses I really have wonder what are you people talking about because in the country that I live people die been murdered by the gun .over 1356 people has lost their lives not by the virus but by men who thinks they should take someone's life just like that so I say that to say this it's not here nor there for me to take the jab because I know one day we all have to pass so just stop the nonsense
pouacmnptz
1
What about promoting health,strong immunity,eating naturally and using natural remedies that is true science but you all won’t talk about that,for you guys it’s about treating symptoms and making billions in the process having people coming back to your office over and over again there are so much natural remedies out there that can help fight off this virus but you don’t talk about that, tell Kimmich to get some olive leaf extract and that will clean up his lungs
bat99dawg
3
In 10 years to come all jab takers will die RIP to all you'll
Lilkramps
2
I’d like to ask Oliver if all the players who are getting COVID now are those who haven’t taken the jab? Those who have taken the jab are still getting infected so what then is the use of the jab if I can still get infected even if I take the jab.
Bahdikos
2
go take the vaccine if you want and leave others alone. if you are vaccinated, what's the use of forcing others if you feel you are safe. Nothing will ever be normal again. Get that in your brain and wake up
capabmnpuy
0
Sports federations should only allow vaccinated players in the leagues except for extreme situations. These sports men and women don't want to face the reality. We have to live with COVID and like with it in a responsible manner period
This is kind of stupid idea.
capabmnpuy
3
Give us peace what da hell is this vaccine for. Vaccinated or without you get the virus so what is behind this vaccine? This virus affect more about the old people. Do you know some old people get vaccinated and die because of the virus? Do you know people recovery well without this vaccine? Tell us what’s behind the vaccine. If anybody don’t want to get vaccine is their choice so don’t force people to take something you yourself don’t know
bazcenprsz
1
Sports federations should only allow vaccinated players in the leagues except for extreme situations. These sports men and women don't want to face the reality. We have to live with COVID and like with it in a responsible manner period
Yusbdepryz
0
stupid player who doesnt get covid vaccine must got their salary reduced by 50%
You are an ignorant fool who doesn't know what he is saying.
Lholding
1
So now the unvaccinated is the virus carrier so sad how easy it is to hate on each other so easy
Lholding
0
Why do they cancel the other side's opinion? Why no more debate, but 'do what you are told' only. Why do governments threaten doctors to voice their opinion? Why FDA wants to block vaccine data for 75 years? Why Pfizer and moderna don't do mandatory for their employees?
Real talk the mass just want to watch football no one care about their own health leave it up to white collar if the vaccine was working everyone would fun for it
Heydemrtu
2
Why forcing them to take something they don't want? I can smell something here
Nueaeklmst
3
Excellent article
SolomonMabaleha
0
it's good to take the vaccine so that the matches will continue smoothly 🤜
You really care only about yourself, don't you ?
SolomonMabaleha
1
You go to hell with your shitty piece of opinions and never come back
FrankRizzo
1
Only sheep think the “vaccine”is the cure!!!
You loose your dignity lol You must be a scientist that studied all the long term effects of a vaccine that was made less then a year ago?
KreddyKall
1
Hell no, it's a choice
why tho, lol
KreddyKall
1
please guys take the vaccine so that we can enjoy football once again the covid heartbroken is too much for we fans that will come to the field o e of a sudden matct postponed
people are too stupid
KreddyKall
1
Only sheep think the “vaccine”is the cure!!!
i don't understand what's to lose if you take it lol
KreddyKall
0
maybe players don't want to get the jab considering not enough research done on it. maybe because they come up with this supposedly vaccination with in a year. also this omicron is meant to be the worst one so how do you know this vaccination covers that aswell???
Also bill gates is hiding chips in them so he can control our brains and send us to work in the mines
Partzee
5
they're postponing matches,so they could make players taken vaccine, while they have been allowing fans to attend the games without vaccines, it's hard to understand what's really going on,
Scooter86
1
man there a lot of sheep that don't know what there on about on hear.
Scooter86
1
maybe players don't want to get the jab considering not enough research done on it. maybe because they come up with this supposedly vaccination with in a year. also this omicron is meant to be the worst one so how do you know this vaccination covers that aswell???
FrankRizzo
5
Only sheep think the “vaccine”is the cure!!!
lanister
2
it's good to take the vaccine so that the matches will continue smoothly 🤜
UcheEmeka
1
please guys take the vaccine so that we can enjoy football once again the covid heartbroken is too much for we fans that will come to the field o e of a sudden matct postponed
BayuPermanaPutra
3
stupid player who doesnt get covid vaccine must got their salary reduced by 50%
Vezonic22
2
This vaccination issue is reasy to become a trending debate again now that Omicron has struck and is rapidly spreading. For safety sake, although aware of the players' choices to either accept or reject, hope they choose to do the wise thing and let us all be on the safe side. This is too much!!!!
fuacdmsz
2
It’s very simple mandatory vaccination no vaccine no play and no pay just like a normal businesses are doing right now
FrankRizzo
5
FYI you can still get and pass covid with the “vaccine”
Humancal44
4
Hell no, it's a choice
Kkrexuke
2
As far as I know, vaccination does not exclude someone from being infected but provide some chances of not be infected. ( like all other vaccines, there are never 100% effectiveness). Being vaccinated prevent one from becoming seriously ill and hospitalized, help one to recover faster and be non contagious at a quicker time due to the high level antibodies. besides, there r many types of vaccines, if you do not trust the RNA type which has received several reports of heat inflammation side effect, can always choose another type. being protected is better than none. same function of as a condom right..🤭😂
hihailnrtz
4
Why do they cancel the other side's opinion? Why no more debate, but 'do what you are told' only. Why do governments threaten doctors to voice their opinion? Why FDA wants to block vaccine data for 75 years? Why Pfizer and moderna don't do mandatory for their employees?
subra101
2
Absolutely