Football To Be Behind Closed Doors From Monday

4 minutes ago, Paul01 said:

Unless they drove to Wellington Airport straight after their games and got on a planes that arrive in Sydney (Nix) and Melbourne respectively.

I hope the Nix made it so they can beat the Smurfs on Wednesday night. They can help Wendy's fav Brattan get his eighth piece of cheese.

MV didn't make it out tonight to arrive before deadline - https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/victory-in-a-race-against-time-after-loss-to-wellington-20200315-p54ab1.html

The PFA should be fully aware this is an evolving situation, and the advice that applied when the Victory left Melbourne could change, no matter the assurances of foreign affairs bureaucrats who are in not involved in making these decisions.

It sucks for the players, but it is what it is.

8 hours ago, Prydzopolis said:

I agree that the delay in implementing the large gathering ban seems based on alternative motivations rather than health (the CMO did say that two days weren’t going to matter but...). Added this to the government’s record or scandals in their short term in government doesn’t breed any confidence. 

The governments decision are based on some of the best in the medical field. It is heartening to know that the medical advice they’ve received thus far has been spot on & they have thus far followed all of that advice. Just be glad that our politicians aren’t the ones who are determining our response to covid19 & it’s best medical people instead

Important to remember that while I’m sure the government is getting quality expert opinion from many sources, IIRC the Chief Medical Officer is a political appointment and therefore all advice from that office should be viewed through that lens. Happy to be corrected if I’m wrong on this one. 

That’s just wrong; this is Australia, not the USA. Even though heads of the bureaucracy are appointed by the Government, they are apolitical advisory positions. The Chief Medical Officer (who was due to become the Secretary of the broader Department of Health, and who should take up that role once the pandemic focus is over) is no different.

FFA live now.

https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1MnxnQzMDWNJO

O'Rourke says the W-League Grand Final will go ahead with no crowd. They want to complete the last 6 rounds of the A-League in 3-4 weeks with no crowds.

The A-league will continue behind close doors

Vics and Nux will go into 2 week isolation but will have their matches rescheduled

honestly dont mind what they are doing, better to finish the season early if possible rather than rescheduling months later

I wonder what this means for the ACL

Will Wellington and Victory be able to train as a team during this 2 weeks self isolation ???

So chanting outside the ground the way to go ala Kogarah lol

1 hour ago, GlobalWarning said:

honestly dont mind what they are doing, better to finish the season early if possible rather than rescheduling months later

I like the article released...makes some good points about trying to protect the football community..

Certainly better than those NRL and AFL flogs..the only thing they care about is $$$$$$$$$

they should just call off the league. make it null and void.

49 minutes ago, Keithie said:

Will Wellington and Victory be able to train as a team during this 2 weeks self isolation ???

No

After watching this round of football you can see that some of the players were switched off and concerned, i think it's good to keep the league going ass most other sports and overseas leagues stopped and with everyone isolated at home it can be an opportunity to get good ratings. But need to isolate the clubs including travelling especially in airports, will only take one player to get the virus then the league will be stopped. 

Tough times ahead for all sports and people in general and i hope the league continues so something to look forward to. 

14 hours ago, Smoggy said:

Melb Victory stranded in NZ after being told by DFAT they were fine to go and come back before isolation deadline.

Vics season was over anyway but sure is now...farce...

Full story on smh..

The deadline wasn’t in place as of Friday but game shouldn’t have gone ahead without assurances (which it got). Should have got clarification on the Sunday. Absolutely horrible that the government assures the club that there will be no issues & then can’t get a flight out even after rushing to the airport.

1 hour ago, Keithie said:

Will Wellington and Victory be able to train as a team during this 2 weeks self isolation ???

Article (think abc) was saying because they were all together, they can be quarantined together & therefore train together (as long as it wasn’t in a public place). It makes logistics difficult because they’ll have to go home to families which mean they’ll have to quarantine too? Who knows how that works?

12 hours ago, smp said:

Important to remember that while I’m sure the government is getting quality expert opinion from many sources, IIRC the Chief Medical Officer is a political appointment and therefore all advice from that office should be viewed through that lens. Happy to be corrected if I’m wrong on this one. 

Does it matter about political views when it comes to public safety? To be honest, whether one was picked by a lib/lab government I doubt whether there will be a large change to approach.

I can’t be a 100% sure that is a political appointment but this isn’t like picking a member of cabinet. His decisions aren’t made based on the prime ministers thinking or party policy. His only consideration is how to best get this country through the covid19 pandemic. 

2 hours ago, SBW said:

The A-league will continue behind close doors

Vics and Nux will go into 2 week isolation but will have their matches rescheduled

You wonder how long this will go on? It’s interesting that Italy faced a similar conundrum a few weeks ago. It went something like this:

Week 1: They were advised to play games behind closed doors but the clubs didn’t want to & last minute all games cancelled.

Week 2: Games scheduled to be played behind closed doors but government gives last minute advice to not to play but games went ahead despite advice

Start of Week 3: All games cancelled

End of Week 3: 1 player from Juventus who had played behind closed doors (only travelled with the team & in stadium) diagnosed.

Time to get serious about this now. All the major football leagues around the world plus other sports, have postponed their comps. Players are putting health n wellbeing, not just of themselves ,but of family/ friends first and sport last. 
Why are we continuing?  Money ?  
 

Fox Sports controls the A league

25 minutes ago, Keithie said:

Fox Sports controls the A league

And the A-league needs Fox's TV rights money to continue to operate. 

An update from Dan Suan on Facebook.  The updated chart is there.

Update: Sunday, 15th March 2020

Hi everyone. Thank you very much for sharing this post so widely 🙏🏻. I cannot stress how important it is to get a positive message out to the Australian community that there is something that each of us can do, right now, to make a massive impact on the course of Covid-19 epidemic here.

We have updated the graph today, Sunday the 15th of March 2020, with the amazing help of Tim Fazio (dead set legend ❤️). This data is from the World Health Organisation, and we don't have the total number of infections in Australia for today. As you can see, Australia (in YELLOW) is still in the very early phase of the outbreak, we had a good starting point, but the upturn in the graph similar to the red countries is a bad sign. There is still time to make an impact, but that time is right now.

There is disturbing news coming out of Europe and America. Look at the RED countries and LISTEN to the stories coming out of them. Hospitals are completely overrun in Northern Italy like there were in Wuhan, many patients cannot even be treated now, multiple doctors and nurses sick and intubated, so many deaths. Spain is soon to follow, as are cities in America. I am deeply sad for what we are about to see unfold.

LOOK at the BLUE countries in Asia: Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan. They are so far ahead of us in this epidemic in time, but they have managed to "flatten the curve" massively. They have NOT had a hospital disaster, they have the capacity to treat their sick, and their communities will be OK. Countless lives have been saved. 

The difference between the RED and BLUE countries? Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan adopted personal and government-enforced social isolation and interpersonal distancing at the EARLIEST stages of the pandemic. They did not wait for a massive increase in cases, they LEARNED from their experience of SARS. As soon as they heard about the novel coronavirus in Wuhan and detected cases in their countries, the PEOPLE went into social isolation "mode". The symbol of this in Asia is everyone wearing a mask in public - the mask is a sign that everyone understands what is going on. The people of these countries *get it* because they have been through this before. The governments of these countries *get it*. I need Australians to WAKE UP and get it too, before it is too late.

I cannot speak for the response of anyone else or any organisation. I am pleading with you to think about YOUR personal response. Let's not wait for anyone to save us, let's save ourselves ☺️. As a person that cares deeply about you, your families and the Australian community, I urge you to rapidly adopt a relatively strict version of social isolation and interpersonal distancing. This is what I am doing:

1. Do not leave your home if you do not need to. The safest place for you and your family in a viral epidemic is in your own home. 
2. If you are able to work from home, do so. If you are a boss, please let your staff work from home as much as possible. Australians are smart, you'll work it out.
3. When you go out, do not touch another person, in any way, unless you have to. Keep your paws to yourself 🐾.
4. When you go out, do not touch any surfaces that you do not need to. Keep your paws to yourself 🐾.
5. Cancel all non-essential meetings, find alternative ways to speak and meet online.
6. Wash you hands frequently, especially the moment you walk in your front door.
7. Don't touch your face.
8. Clean your phone several times a day, and don't leave it lying around when you are outside your home.
9. Find smart ways to support local businesses (buy a voucher online), artists (buy a song online 😍), but do it from the safety of your own home.
10. Talk to your friends, check on vulnerable people, listen to music, make memes, dance in your home, remember to laugh 😂
11. Speak to every single person that is close to you, help them to understand what this social isolation "mode" is, why it is so important, and help them to start doing it, right now.

Covid-19 is a virus that passes from person to person, directly or indirectly. If every Australian adopts these measures, we can break the line of transmission between people and avoid the disaster that we are witnessing unfold in the USA and Europe. It is early enough for us to do this, we have time, but a narrowing window to act decisively.

It is possible I will get into trouble for saying all of this. But now I do not care, I know in my heart this is the right thing to do, and I am happy to accept any consequences.

Please look after yourself, your family and friends ❤️.
Think for yourself, fact check everything, use your feelings. If you agree that this is the right thing to do, please share this again as widely as possible, every day is critical now.

Much love ❤️❤️🐾
 

That information has been put through a lot through the socials. Tend to agree and I believe they should have suspended the league all it takes is one professional player to fall down with this

NPL looks like it's going to be cancelled because the clubs can't afford the costs of playing without income.

2 hours ago, JackDoff said:

Time to get serious about this now. All the major football leagues around the world plus other sports, have postponed their comps. Players are putting health n wellbeing, not just of themselves ,but of family/ friends first and sport last. 
Why are we continuing?  Money ?  
 

Of course it is money..and NRL pleading for bailouts from the government...

I think games will continue behind closed doors for a couple of rounds before the inevitable happens and a few players get it from traveling all over.

As much as i want to see games on TV my feeling is all comps should be suspended....player welfare and family first...

Also if it gets as bad as some Euro countries interstate travel will be stopped....states will go in to lockdown.

Not even the coronavirus can save us from this dismal season.

On the amusing side, my wife read an AFL comment:  "Club bosses seek urgent meeting with GWS Giants boss to try and understand what it means to play before an empty stadium."  Sounds like they have a rep for poor crowds across other sports as well.

40 minutes ago, BoyFromTheWest said:

On the amusing side, my wife read an AFL comment:  "Club bosses seek urgent meeting with GWS Giants boss to try and understand what it means to play before an empty stadium."  

Lol. They've already been doing that for their entire existence.

Interesting update of sorts on Euro leagues from Rory Smith from NYT, you can find it on the  totally football show:

- Most European leagues suspended till April 3, then a further period of suspension until May at least

- Many options on the table, fit in season in May/June, change the start of next season, align with the Qatar World Cup 

- Underlying message is that they need to deliver matches for broadcasters who have invested lots of money. Need to finish the season for pro/rel 

8 hours ago, Prydzopolis said:

Article (think abc) was saying because they were all together, they can be quarantined together & therefore train together (as long as it wasn’t in a public place). It makes logistics difficult because they’ll have to go home to families which mean they’ll have to quarantine too? Who knows how that works?

An updated article today (from the FFA press conference this morning) said they won’t be training together. To be honest, this to me is not right. Teams can’t train for 2 weeks, I don’t think it’s fair for the competition.

Incredible how quickly things are changing, hour to hour things are happening & it’s a fluid situation. Incredible how quickly it’s all happening 

5 hours ago, Flytox said:

An update from Dan Suan on Facebook.  The updated chart is there.

Thanks for sharing Tox, so important that we look to good & reliable sources of information in these times

This is one by the health expert (a doctor) who writes for the ABC

https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-16/coronavirus-questions-on-pregnancy-asthma-pools-and-schools/12058926

16 minutes ago, Prydzopolis said:

Thanks for sharing Tox, so important that we look to good & reliable sources of information in these times

This is one by the health expert (a doctor) who writes for the ABC

https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-16/coronavirus-questions-on-pregnancy-asthma-pools-and-schools/12058926

"And my feeling is, to be blunt, we're dicking around and we've just got to shut stuff down now."

1 hour ago, btron3000 said:

"And my feeling is, to be blunt, we're dicking around and we've just got to shut stuff down now."

I was listening to a politician on the news earlier and he said something along the lines of 'we are nowhere near the situation that Italy for example is facing so there is no need for the kind of measures they have in place yet, we will review how it progresses day by day and introduce new measures as required'.....

Now I would think that you would try and look at what has happened in places like Italy and not follow / wait until things get as bad?

I realize these are very challenging unprecedented times but I think politicians have more than one eye on the economy rather than the welfare of the general public as do the AFL and NRL.