Premier League's 'Project Restart' under threat amidst growing players concern

The Premier League is planning to resume the 19-20 season on 12th June after a 3 month break due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The 'Project Restart' has taken it's first steps towards resumption as Premier League players will return to training in small groups this week.

Troy Deeney has said wont return to training

 Even though the Premier League is confident in it's plans for the return of football, the players don't seem convinced. Troy Deeney, is one the most vocal players against the restart of the league. The Watford captain has refused to return to training amidst concerns about the safety of his family. "My son is five months and he's had breathing difficulties. I don't want to come home and put him in more danger. You've got to drive in in your own kit, you can't have showers, then drive back in the same dirty kit you've got. If I'm putting my clothing in with my son's or my missus' it's more likely to be in the house", Deeney said on Talk The Talk podcast. 

Deeney is not the only player against the 'Project Restart', earlier this month Newcastle United players Danny Rose criticised the Premier League comeback plans and compared footballers to 'lab rats'. Earlier Sergio Aguero said that 'majority of players are scared' at the possibility of return to playing football, while Raheem Sterling said that players will need 4-5 weeks of training before returning. Many players are said to be against the idea of restarting premier league just to boost the morale of the people in UK during the lockdown.

Danny Rose has described footballers as 'lab rats'

Chelsea duo Willian and Tammy Abraham raised doubts about potential restart as well. Willian said to The Mirror," Honestly, from what I see, a lot of players - the majority, I'd say - are uncomfortable with the idea of returning right now." Tammy Abraham echoed the concerns of his Chelsea team-mate. He said, "My father has asthma and I do not want to put him in any kind of danger.'

UK Government wants to restart football to boost morale of people during the lockdown

The first coronavirus tests of the players were conducted on the weekend and 6 players from 3 clubs tested positive for deadly disease. This will only increase the growing concerns in the minds of the players.

Bruno Fernandes arrived at Carrington to undergo a coronavirus test

As the world's most watched league aims for a comeback, it still looks like the premier league might need some more convincing ideas and safety guidelines for all the players, to get them on board for the restart.

Socially distanced celebrations, commentators commentating from home and substitutes wearing masks. Everything about the much anticipated return of Bundesliga.

Bundesliga quietly returned to action on the weekend and all the football fans saw what their beloved sport will look like for a foreseeable future. The first 'sanitized' ball was kicked in the Revierdebry as Borussia Dortmund beat Schalke 4-0 at an empty Signal Iduna Park. The BVB coach Lucien Favre described the atmosphere as "very, very weird."

BVB players celebrating Halaand's goal

The pre-game warm ups were carried out in small groups as per the guidelines by the German Football League(DFL). The substitutes sat at a distance from each other, wearing masks. The 4th official wore a mask throughout the game as well, as all the precautions were taken for the smooth sailing of the first matchweek post the Covid-19 break.

Substitutes sat at a distance from each other wearing masks

In these unprecedented times, the commentators were working on the games from their homes as well. Some Bundesliga commentators like Ian Darke and Paul Dempsey posted a video of working on the game from their homes, on their twitter feed.

On a weekend when all the games were played under the guidelines, the first real issue came up when Hertha Berlin players celebrated a goal. Hertha Berlin defender Dedryck Boyata raised some eyebrows when he kissed team-mate Marko Grujic on his cheek. The DFL announced that the Bundesliga players won't be punished for not social distancing during goal celebrations.

Boyata celebrates with Grujic

Erling Halland scored the first goal for Borussia Dortmund in their win against Schalke and a bizzare celebration followed. The players stood at a distance from each other and clapped without getting into contact with each other. This scenario might be something that all football fans have to get used to in coming weeks. The BVB players did their usual salute to an empty 'Yellow Wall' at the end of the game to thank the fans for their constant support.

Borussia Dortmund won the the derby and kept up the pressure on Bayern Munich who won away 2-0 away at Union Berlin to remain 4 points clear at the top of the table. RB Leipzig were held 1-1 at home by SC Freiburg and dropped down to 4th spot, losing ground on the league leaders.

The first matchweek post Covid-19 was carried out well and football fans all over the world will hope other league will follow suit.

German Bundesliga set to be the first of the top-5 European Leagues to return post Covid-19 break.

All eyes of the sporting world will be on the German Bundesliga as it's set to be the first among the top 5 football leagues in the world to make a return post covid-19 break. The Bundesliga will return with a fascinating local derby as Title-Chasing Borussia Dortmund will host Schalke in a local derby on the 16th of May.

The DFL (Deutsche Fußball Liga) announced that the games will be played behind closed doors to avoid gathering of people as a precaution to the deadly Covid-19.The German Bundesliga has the highest average attendance of any other league in the World. Playing games behind closed doors will take away the excellent fan' culture in Germany. The teams have to play without the loud, vocal and passionate support for the rest of the season. Borussia Mönchengladbach are planning to have cardboard cutouts of fans to fill up the stadiums with other clubs looking the follow the trend.

A stumbling block among the discussion of resumption of football was whether the games should be played on neutral venues or as traditionally home and away. The German government eased the national lockdown just in time for the Bundesliga to continue playing games home and away. This will be a big boost for the clubs especially the ones in relegation scramble. The DFL announced that all the necessary measures and precautions will be taken at all the venues to ensure smooth running of football.

Games will be played behind closed doors 

In another big change, the managers will now be allowed to make five substitutes. This comes as no surprise considering the increasing number of precautions taken against Covid-19 to ensure smooth sailing till the end of the season.

Even though the plans to start the league are well in place, the ever lasting threat of the corona symptoms showing back exists. The DFL however are confident that there will be no such problems. "All the players will be tested and medics will be provided for each matchday", said a spokesperson. The Borussia Dortmund managing director, Carsten Cramer remained confident that there will be no problems of a player testing positive for Covid-19, he said," A positive test won't be a catastrophe as long as we have the rules and recommendations for how to get along with it."

Bayern Munich are 4 points clear at the top of the table 

Other leagues , especially the Premier League and La Liga will be looking intently at how the restart of Bundesliga is carried out as they prepare to start for life after Covid-19.