There are doubts over the British Grand Prix while Premier League players begin returning to training amid protocols to protect them from Covid-19.
Formula One admits UK Government plans for a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from abroad “would make it impossible to have a British Grand Prix this year”.
The race at Silverstone is still scheduled to go ahead on July 19 despite the opening 10 races of the season not going ahead as scheduled, three being cancelled and seven postponed.
F1 officials want Government to compromise to help the campaign continue.
The spokesman told the BBC: “We would be travelling back to the UK on F1 only occupied aircraft and all staff would be tested, making a quarantine totally unnecessary. If all elite sport is to return to TV, then exemptions must be provided.”
Newcastle manager Steve Bruce has hailed the “meticulous” planning behind the Premier League’s return to non-contact training.
The 20 clubs unanimously agreed a set of protocols on Monday for training in small groups to resume 24 hours later while the first round of Covid-19 testing results will also be confirmed on Tuesday.
Bruce told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “They have done everything they possibly can to make sure everyone is safe. The attention to detail is fantastic. I think everything has been put in place.
Today, Newcastle United's players will start returning to the training ground in small groups as they begin their preparations for the proposed resumption of the 2019/20 Premier League campaign. Steve Bruce has been speaking to NUFC TV. Watch now: https://t.co/jNO913DAgx #NUFC pic.twitter.com/hw6J1az2Pq — Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) May 19, 2020
“They have been meticulous in their planning. The vast majority of our squad are satisfied.”
Luke Shaw says everyone in the Manchester United dressing room is “really excited to be getting back to some normality” as they take the “massive step forward” of returning to training on Wednesday.
“We’ve known for around a week that it was a possibility, but United have had to make it the safest possible environment for all the players and staff,” he
said on the club website.
“We’ll still social-distance throughout, we’ll arrive in our training gear and shower when we get home. The rules have to be really strict but we’re obviously all going to stick to them just to make sure things run as smoothly and safely as possible.”
The Rugby Football League today confirm the postponement of the @Coral @TheChallengeCup Final and @ABSundecksLtd 1895 Cup Final, which had been scheduled for July 18 at @wembleystadium. More: https://t.co/n7izgfJMyU pic.twitter.com/QR7RKB3W9W — Rugby Football League (at 🏠) (@TheRFL) May 19, 2020
Danny Rose believes Premier League players are being treated as lab rats as they gear up for a return during the coronavirus pandemic.
The defender, on loan at Newcastle from Tottenham, has already been a vocal critic of the plan to resume the top flight.
Clubs are due to resume training on Tuesday and Wednesday for socially-distanced sessions but Rose remains sceptical.
“I’m dying to get back to football but just with the things that are happening right now, people are going through this coronavirus pandemic a lot worse than me, I don’t want to be complaining about everything,” the England international told The Lockdown Tactics podcast with Robert Snodgrass and Kris Boyd.
“Just off the fact that people are suggesting we should go back to football, like we’re guinea pigs or lab rats.
“We’ve going to experiment this phase and see if it works or not. I can just imagine people at home saying, ‘Well they earn that amount of money so they should be going back’.”
Rugby League’s Coral Challenge Cup final, slated for Wembley on July 18, has been postponed .
The Rugby Football League still hopes to stage the showpiece later in 2020, so long as Government advice permits. The competition had reached the sixth-round stage.
Lancashire are waiting on a decision from the England and Wales Cricket Board on whether Emirates Old Trafford will host behind-closed-doors Test matches this summer.
The ECB is planning to host series against West Indies and Pakistan at ‘biosecure’ venues.
Lancashire’s acting chairman, Les Platts, said: “We have expressed our interest to the ECB, we are waiting on the ECB for a decision on that. We are continuing to plan on the basis it will happen.
“We have done extensive planning now for behind-closed-doors cricket and we are hopeful we will get the green light soon and we will have cricket going again in July.”
Lancashire are still waiting on the exact protocols for what makes a ‘biosecure’ environment.
