Two-thirds of British footballers reportedly unvaccinated

Jürgen Klopp does not understand vaccination opponents. “I would like to appeal to these people,” said the Liverpool coach at the weekend, “whether they are footballers or whoever – the vaccines work.” His coaching colleague Thomas Tuchel from Chelsea FC expressed himself more cautiously. “The players are adults and can decide freely whether they want to be vaccinated or not,” said Tuchel, who is vaccinated out of conviction. “We have to accept that.”

How many Chelsea professionals are vaccinated, Tuchel was unable to say. According to Klopp, there are 99 percent of the players at Liverpool FC. Neither the Premier League nor the clubs publish specific official figures on the vaccination rate, but according to a report in the Daily Mail, almost two thirds of players in England’s top league are not vaccinated – and many apparently refuse to be vaccinated.

Conspiracy theories behind closed doors

The newspaper reported on club staff anonymously speaking about conspiracy theories that are said to be widespread in top club dressing rooms – from impotence to control by Bill Gates’ microchips. In some cases, seasoned professionals would influence the next generation. According to the Times, several players from record champions Manchester United are said to have refused the vaccination for religious reasons.

In the Premier League, there are now fears that public support for the footballers will wane after so many exceptions were made for the stars in Corona times – for example when traveling – that do not apply to other people. If these players, of all people, refuse to be vaccinated and claim further exceptions, the population cannot be expected to understand.

Vaccinated Player Rewards

To counteract this, the Premier League wants to set new incentives. “We are considering whether and how we can best ‘reward’ the teams / players who are Covid-compliant,” said a letter from the league, quoted by the British media. According to this, more than half of the players in only seven clubs are fully vaccinated. “So we still have a bit to go,” they said. For clubs with a particularly high vaccination rate, the Premier League promises to relax the strict corona rules in the stadium. It is questionable, however, that this will convince the vaccine skeptics.

Meanwhile, the discussion has reached the English national team. According to the newspaper “The Sun”, among the declared opponents of the vaccination are several – not named – established members of the vice-European champion. Behind the scenes it should be simmering, because national coach Gareth Southgate has spoken out in public in favor of the vaccination.

Vaccination advocates in football are exposed to hostility

However, it is not to be expected that players will take a public position. For fear of hostility, the professionals hold back with such appeals. Southgate experienced it firsthand. In the summer he took part in a campaign run by the national health service, the NHS, calling on young people to get vaccinated. As a result, the coach said he received more messages of hate than after sporting disappointments in his past.

England will play a World Cup qualifier in Andorra on Saturday. In the Pyrenees, the strict travel restrictions for those who are fully vaccinated have been relaxed. For the unvaccinated in the squad, a special exception applies in this case, which is accompanied by a quarantine. There will probably not be such special rules at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. According to the current status, only fully vaccinated professionals will be allowed to take part in the tournament next year.