Bengaluru, April 22: La Liga players leading clubs have raised their concerns about returning to work while the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is still a threat and are against the Spanish League’s plans to hold closed training camps, the association of Spanish footballers’ (AFE) said. Captains from all 42 teams in La Liga and Spanish football’s second division held a video meeting with the players’ association (AFE) to discuss conditions for returning to work. All football activities in Spain have come to a stanstill since March 10 due to the spread of the novel coronavirus in Spain, which has more than 200,000 confirmed infections, the most in Europe.
La Liga chief Javier Tebas has said Spanish clubs would lose around one billion euros if the campaign cannot be finished. The league has been working on a protocol establishing conditions for a return to training, which recommends that teams hold closed training camps at facilities, a move which Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets said he was against. The captains underlined their opposition to closed training camps during the meeting, an AFE spokesman said, adding that players would be informing the government’s department for sport and the health ministry of their concerns about returning to action. “The players have shown their utmost concern for the situation society is experiencing at the moment and in particular about the health conditions they will find themselves in when they return to normal activity,” he added.