The Everton boss says soccer doesn’t make a difference on the surface of the pandemic, which has killed 21 people in Britain and over 1,400 in his homeland of Italy.
Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti says suspending the Premier League at the surface of the coronavirus pandemic was a perfect choice, but worries the UK hasn’t grasped the”gravity of the situation”.
It was declared on Friday that the contest will be postponed until at least April 3, as all kinds of professional soccer in England were put on hold.
The Premier League had originally insisted matches would proceed as normal, but crisis talks were held after Arsenal verified that trainer Mikel Arteta had tested positive for Covid-19.
Several more teams from the English top-flight have been changed, such as Everton, who declared on Friday that their whole squad is in self-isolation after a player reported on the club he was displaying symptoms of this disease.
In the united kingdom, 21 people have died after contracting coronavirus, while in Italy, Ancelotti’s homeland and Europe’s worst-hit country, the death toll has climbed to 1,441 with 21,157 confirmed cases.
And Ancelotti believes leagues, players and clubs are right to quit playing matches because football isn’t crucial in the face of the pandemic.
“We are not really self-isolating at all, but a few avoidance measures did come in after a player had a fever, but his fever has dropped now and that is the main thing,” Ancelotti said to La Gazzetta Dello Sport.
“The Premier League did stop eventually, and it is about time. It was the ideal decision faced with the situation. We could not continue. Health is the most important thing for everybody: groups, fans, media, everybody who works in soccer.
“In theory, we should return to work on March 22, but if the overall situation worsens, how can we even consider that? If the coronavirus is still spreading rapidly, football cannot resume.
“To be perfectly honest, I’m not interested. Soccer counts for zero right now and it almost annoys me to be talking about it, confronted with the catastrophe that’s unfolding before our eyes. This is a pandemic, a situation none of us had experienced before today.”
He continued: “Italy were made to understand that it was time to stop being shallow, they needed to honor the orders and remain home, to respect themselves and others in this war.
“I’ve followed the British Prime Minister’s press conference on television. It appears to me that they still haven’t realised the gravity of this situation up here. Life continues to flow with a certain regularity.”
