Premier League players will not be forced to accept the Covid-19 jab despite Neil Warnock warning that the majority of professional footballers have not been fully vaccinated.
And the Premier League’s pandemic protocols will remain in place for players at training grounds and in dressing rooms as there are fears the season could unravel because of the disruption caused by positive Covid-19 cases.
It needs only two or more positive tests at a work building, such as a training ground, for Public Health England to intervene and potentially close a training ground.
Clubs are encouraging players to get jabbed as it is the best way to minimise outbreaks and avoid periods of isolation.
Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard revealed on Saturday that he had gone into isolation for 10 days after a positive test.
Yet Middlesbrough manager Warnock has revealed a reluctance amongst Championship players to get jabbed. ‘For whatever reason, the majority of the players don’t have vaccinations which I think is wrong,’ Warnock said.
‘We’ve had a few little sniffs of the virus which we’ve got to overcome. We’re still getting tested every day.
‘It’s every individual but it’s proven that if you’ve had two jabs you can go everywhere you want and come back.’
Boro begin their Championship campaign away to Fulham on Sunday. ‘We’ve just got to be so careful because we are mixing with fans now,’ said Warnock.
‘I think the fans should demand that players have vaccinations because I can only say so much.’
England captain Harry Kane is also in quarantine at the Tottenham training ground after returning from holiday in Florida.
Kane will be able to train alone as he is at the training ground before joining squad sessions on Friday.
Lingard must remain in isolation for 10 days and, if symptoms are mild, will likely only be able to work on an exercise bike.
Anyone who was within two metres of either player for more than a total of 15 minutes in one day would also need to isolate.
United already had goalkeeper Dean Henderson return a positive test last month.
‘Jesse feels okay, hopefully it will stay that way,’ United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said after the 4-0 friendly win over Everton. ‘Dean was positive early on and then he’s negative in his testing but has not felt as energised or sharp as he has done. He feels fatigued. You see so many effects of this virus. He’s still got a few days to rest.’
The Mail on Sunday contacted all of the top-flight clubs to ask if it was club policy for players to receive two Covid vaccinations.
Twelve clubs said rules around confidentiality prevented them from answering the question, while the other eight did not respond.
The Premier League said they will continue to encourage players to take up the offer of a jab. Sources stressed that despite the improving situation and the removal of most restrictions in everyday life, all players need to be vigilant and be aware that finishing the season on time remains a challenge if Covid outbreaks see training grounds shut and games cancelled.
Several players have expressed concerns about the vaccine.
Everton midfielder Fabian Delph published a quote on Instagram from the Healing Chamber, a holistic medical practitioner based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
‘It’s now a “conspiracy theory” to believe that the immune system is capable of doing the job it was designed to do,’ the post read. The former Liverpool defender, Dejan Lovren, has said that nobody should be forced to be vaccinated.
‘Everyone should choose, when I read people who are not vaccinated will not be able to find a job, I wonder if it is compatible with human rights,’ Lovren said. ‘I do not think that vaccines are dangerous but no one can make me take it.’
Lovren, who is now with Zenit St Petersburg, was eventually vaccinated ahead of representing Croatia at Euro 2020.
Leon Legge, who plays for Port Vale, shared anti-vaccine sentiments on social media with nearly 10,000 followers.
In one post, he wrote: ‘People don’t realise that the vaccine hasn’t enough evidence or data to be even be legally called a vaccine.’
Bristol City said they would educate staff on vaccinations after striker Nahki Wells shared anti-vaccine information on social media before deleting it hours later. He posted a series of conspiracy theory memes, including one purporting to be advice on ‘how to legally decline a vaccine’.
Premier League clubs started their vaccinations programmes over the summer, with many players now double vaccinated.
Covid officers will continue to patrol training grounds to ensure players do not socialise for longer than 15 minutes.
It was a lack of vigilance that allowed Ben Chilwell and Mason Mount to chat to Chelsea team-mate Billy Gilmour after the England-Scotland Euro 2020 game for more than 20 minutes, which meant Chilwell and Mount had to isolate after Gilmour caught coronavirus.