With the English government still seemingly taking their fight against the Covid-19 virus one step at a time, it remains up to clubs to decide whether they hold training or not.
While certain sides, like Manchester United, have postponed sessions until further notice, it appears others, like Brighton & Hove Albion Women, are still going about their business as usual.
For Léa Le Garrec, a French midfielder who joined from Guingamp in the summer, this is bordering on incomprehensible behaviour as they were asked to turn up for training on Wednesday morning after four days of rest, with the team doctor not even present.
Speaking to L’Equipe, she said: “During the meeting before training, I said I didn’t understand why they weren’t even taking our temperature. It was possible that, in the room where we were, three or four people were carrying the virus. The physio answered: ‘If you don’t have symptoms, it’s that you’re fine. There’s no need’.”
Furthermore, unlike other clubs, Brighton Women didn’t let their foreign players return home, which added another layer of frustration.
She continued: “I just don’t understand it. Everton sent their players back, like Maéva Clemaron, who messaged me on Monday afternoon to tell me she was going home. With Pauline (Peyraud-Magnin, who plays for Arsenal), we send each other messages because we can’t see each other. She’s in quarantine.”
Now, she’s just waiting to see what happens, adding: “If it’s completely cancelled, I’m going home. Yesterday, I had a headache, probably because I was thinking all day about what I was going to do.
“What scares me is that here, they aren’t in war mode, just like us, in France, when we took this virus lightly. They are losing time.”
To make things worse for the player, L’Equipe add that Brighton Women asked their players to turn up on Thursday morning for yet another training session.
That won’t have gone down well.
