Football bosses warned to put house in order after players broke Covid rules

Culture secretary Oliver Dowden has warned English football’s leaders to get their house after a shutdown of sport was discussed as part of the nation’s new lockdown.

News of the meeting has emerged as the Premier League revealed 40 players and staff had tested positive for the virus in the latest round of testing and the game continues to fight a rear-guard action after a clutch of high-profile players breached coronavirus rules over the festive period.

Pressure is growing on football’s governing bodies to be seen to be taking the increasingly rapid spread of coronavirus seriously, or risk losing the privilege currently afforded to elite sport, which continues while most other activities have been curtailed.

Three Spurs stars and a West Ham player (identified above) broke rules to party despite Covid-19 restrictions being in place over the Christmas period

Crystal Palace captain Luka Milivojevic (left) was seen breaking Covid rules at a New Year’s Eve party with Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic (right)

In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon waded into a row about Celtic jetting off to Dubai for a training camp, while the rest of the country languished in lockdown.

Sturgeon said that elite sport had been given leeway during the national lockdown announced on Monday, but ‘it’s important they don’t abuse it’.

Meanwhile, a senior figure within one of the Premier League’s television rights holders has today described the breach of covid rules by footballers as ‘disgusting;’.

And a leading expert in public health told Sportsmail that players, who flagrantly ignore the rule everyone else had to follow should be banned for up to six weeks. and the FA needs to take responsibility.

Manchester City left back Benjamin Mendy hosted a New Year’s Eve party at his mansion

In their meeting on Monday, Culture Secretary Dowden warned the Premier League, EFL and meeting Football Association that players who breach rules play into the hands of those who would see the game shut down.

The meeting came after seven Premier League stars were caught attending illicit Christmas gatherings and on the eve of the Prime Minister’s lockdown announcement.

The Government did come under pressure to call a halt to elite sport on Monday, but the Department for Culture Media and Sport managed to resist those calls, claiming the sport currently does more harm than good, according to The Telegraph.

However, as football continues to allow the issue of players breaching Covid rules to drift – and as the number of cases goes up – the pressure on the national game is unlikely to subside.

Manchester City were without six players for their match against Chelsea on Sunday, who had tested positive for coronavirus,  including Kyle Walker and Eric Garcia. The number of positive Covid tests in the Premier League reached 40 in the last round of testing

Currently, nobody is willing to take responsibility for tackling the breaches. The Premier League believes it is a matter for the clubs and suggests its own protocols do not extend beyond match days and training. The EFL believes the FA should act, but the FA says its rules do not extend to Covid rule breaches.

‘It is weak management,’ said Professor Keith Neale, an expert in public health at the University of Nottingham. ‘They should give them a six week ban if players breach the rules put in place for colleagues’ protection.

‘Football authorities are taking a risk by not dealing with ‘covidiots’. I do not want to ban football, but I do want to make it safe.’