Here’s a link to the official statement that Manchester United made in response to the spread and threat of COVID-19. Their last match, a 5-0 win at LASK Linz in Europa League round of 16 action, was played behind closed doors due to coronavirus fears. As of now, one wonders if that result will just be in vein? With the return leg at Old Trafford cancelled, will it be all for nothing?
United are considered among the favorites to win the UEL, and thus get back into the Champions League next season. So this is a very viable route back into the REAL European tournament for next year, but that’s all up in the air right now. If the UEL doesn’t resume, then there is another way for United to get back in the big game- the top four might actually be the top five this season.
That’s because the appeal Manchester City made to the Court of Arbitration for Sport is being delayed due to the coronavirus. City had hoped for a summer hearing, but that seems impossible now as their case isn’t even listed on the docket. The court in Lausanne has already postponed three hearings and has 16 cases already scheduled until 18 May, according to The Guardian.
That means the ban is very much likely to be upheld, and it also means the fifth place team, currently United, would get City’s UCL qualification slot.
Elsewhere, Manchester United’s next match, versus Brighton & Hove Albion, is scheduled for April 4, but it’s getting likelier by the day that it’s going to get called off. In the meantime, United are staying in shape by resuming training on Tuesday, and injured midfielder Paul Pogba is holding a birthday fundraiser to try and fight the pandemic.
Click on the link to help fight the war against #COVID19https://t.co/FTA7936t07 pic.twitter.com/Wbui94Nua4
— Paul Pogba (@paulpogba) March 15, 2020
Per B/R: “According to the Mirror‘s David McDonnell, Pogba wants to raise £27,000 for UNICEF, and he pledged to double the sum if that amount is reached.”
Finally, Wayne Rooney has said that the authorities, both in football and in government have treated footballers as “guinea pigs” during this COVID-19 outbreak.
United and England’s all-time leading scorer wrote in the Sunday Times:
“The rest of sport – tennis, Formula 1, rugby, golf, football in other countries – was closing down and we were being told to carry on.
“I think a lot of footballers were wondering, ‘Is it something to do with money being involved in this?’. Why did we wait until Friday? Why did it take Mikel Arteta [Arsenal manager] to get ill for the game in England to do the right thing?
“After the emergency meeting, at last the right decision was made – until then it almost felt like footballers in England were being treated like guinea pigs.”
Wow! Really strong words from Wayne Rooney there.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.