{"id":1135435,"date":"2020-03-06T18:10:37","date_gmt":"2020-03-06T18:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1135435"},"modified":"2021-12-21T09:36:46","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T09:36:46","slug":"premier-league-bans-pre-match-handshakes-coronavirus","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/premier-league-bans-pre-match-handshakes-coronavirus\/","title":{"rendered":"Premier League bans pre-match handshakes due to Coronavirus concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Pre-match fair-play handshakes have been banned at all forthcoming Premier League matches until further notice due to concerns about the Coronavirus outbreak.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Traditionally, the two sets of players line up on the pitch after coming out of the tunnel before the home team walks past the away team, shaking each other&#8217;s hands as they go.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"background-color: transparent; display: block; padding: 0; max-width: 700px;\" title=\"Audioboom player\" src=\"https:\/\/embeds.audioboom.com\/posts\/7523209\/embed\/v4\" width=\"100%\" height=\"300\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>However, with a number of sporting bodies across the globe taking action to slow the spread of Coronavirus &#8212; including Serie A games being postponed and Uefa Europa League matches being played behind closed doors &#8212; the Premier League has now taken the decision to ban handshakes.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">OFFICIAL: Atalanta have confirmed their Champions League match against Valencia will be played behind closed doors. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pOXOzS6cTL\">pic.twitter.com\/pOXOzS6cTL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Play Squawka Selector for Free (@Squawka_Live) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Squawka_Live\/status\/1235547650872807425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 5, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Why have the Premier League banned handshakes?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>According to a Premier League statement, the decision to ban pre-match fair-play handshakes has been taken based on medical advice.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Premier League fair-play handshake will not take place between players and match officials from this weekend until further notice based on medical advice,&#8221; the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.premierleague.com\/news\/1636646?sf231081075=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">statement<\/a> on the Premier League&#8217;s official website read.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Premier League fair-play handshake will not take place between players and match officials from this weekend until further notice based on medical advice <\/p>\n<p>Full statement: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/m1owLqUol8\">https:\/\/t.co\/m1owLqUol8<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DkvzRyePzX\">pic.twitter.com\/DkvzRyePzX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Premier League (@premierleague) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/premierleague\/status\/1235637325415280642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 5, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Coronavirus is spread via droplets from the nose and mouth and can be transmitted on to the hands and passed on via a handshake.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Clubs and match officials will still perform the rest of the traditional walk-out protocol ahead of each fixture.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;On entering the field of play, the two teams will continue to line up, accompanied by the Premier League music, then players from the home team will walk past their opposition without shaking their hands.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1135451 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2020\/03\/06144254\/1135435_1135435_PA-50008890-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1641\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2020\/03\/06144254\/1135435_1135435_PA-50008890-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2020\/03\/06144254\/1135435_1135435_PA-50008890-300x192.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2020\/03\/06144254\/1135435_1135435_PA-50008890-1024x657.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2020\/03\/06144254\/1135435_1135435_PA-50008890-768x492.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2020\/03\/06144254\/1135435_1135435_PA-50008890-1536x985.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2020\/03\/06144254\/1135435_1135435_PA-50008890-2048x1313.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2020\/03\/06144254\/1135435_1135435_PA-50008890-66x42.jpg 66w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Certain fixtures in England&#8217;s lower leagues have already seen teams decline taking part in pre-match handshakes.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What measures are Premier League clubs taking to slow the spread of Coronavirus?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Despite the Premier League only just taking the decision to ban pre-match handshakes, clubs across the English top-flight have been taking action to slow the spread of Coronavirus.<\/p>\n<p>The likes of Newcastle United and West Ham United &#8212; despite taking part in pre-match handshakes during that time &#8212; have banned handshakes on their own training grounds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a ritual here that everybody shakes hands with everybody as soon as we see each other every morning \u2013 we\u2019ve stopped that on the advice of the doctor,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/talksport.com\/football\/676502\/newcastle-coronavirus-fears-burnley-handshake-ban\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a> Newcastle manager Steve Bruce in February.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe&#8217;re like everybody else. Thankfully, we\u2019ve got a superb doctor here and he will keep us informed of what we have to do.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re like everybody else, we\u2019re glued to the TV for where it\u2019s going to go next and let\u2019s hope it doesn\u2019t get any worse in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Liverpool have now decided not to have any mascots present on the pitch during matchdays.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Could further measures be taken by the Premier League?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Coronavirus is causing widespread disruption in leagues and sports across Europe, most notably in Italy, while the Swiss top-flight has also been suspended until mid-March at the earliest.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">OFFICIAL: All sporting events in Italy will be played behind closed doors until April 3rd due to Coronavirus concerns. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ntz7TrQdY3\">pic.twitter.com\/Ntz7TrQdY3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Play Squawka Selector for Free (@Squawka_Live) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Squawka_Live\/status\/1235288315894673409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 4, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>And Everton chief executive Sasha<span> Ryazantsev believes the Premier League could opt for a similar course of action, which could also include playing games behind closed doors, with the number of infected in England now believed to be in the region of 160.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt would be a forced decision rather than one we would proactively engage in,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/football\/2020\/mar\/05\/premier-league-matches-closed-doors-coronavirus-everton\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a> Ryazantsev at the FT Business of Football Summit in London. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cBut the whole situation goes far beyond the world of sport. Nobody wants to play behind closed doors and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s inevitable that it will happen. But we feel it is quite likely it may happen in the coming weeks.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pre-match fair-play handshakes have been banned at all forthcoming Premier League matches until further notice due to concerns about the Coronavirus outbreak.\u00a0 Traditionally, the two sets of players line up on the pitch after coming out of the tunnel before the home team walks past the away team, shaking each other&#8217;s hands as they go&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":1238863,"parent":0,"menu_order":2899,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Premier League bans fair-play handshakes over Coronavirus fears | Squawka","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Pre-match fair-play handshakes have been banned at all Premier League matches until further notice due to concerns about Coronavirus.","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"news-category":[],"class_list":["post-1135435","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"external_featured_image_url":"","hide_featured_image_pattern":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Premier League bans fair-play handshakes over Coronavirus fears | Squawka<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pre-match fair-play handshakes have been banned at all Premier League matches until further notice due to concerns about Coronavirus.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/premier-league-bans-pre-match-handshakes-coronavirus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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