June 3 – Plans to resume England’s second-tier Championship on or around June 20 have been condemned by the boss of Queens Park Rangers who says he is “stunned” and “appalled” by the decision.
Rangers chief executive Lee Hoos says clubs were only informed of the decision moments before it was made public by the Football League, fuelling a growing debate over the wisdom of restarting English football with insufficient time to train and when the country has the largest Covid 19-related death rate anywhere in the world outside the United States.
“I am absolutely stunned by this announcement, as is our Director of Football and our manager,” Hoos told QPR’s website.
“Incredibly, there has been absolutely no consultation with individual clubs nor with the Championship doctors’ working group by anyone in the Football League regarding this matter. There was an appalling lack of corporate governance. It dropped out of nowhere.”
“On top of that, we were only made aware of the statement 40 minutes before it was made public. The players haven’t even returned to full-contact training at this moment and yet they are now expected to be in a position to play at a competitive level in just three weeks’ time.
“I have made our feelings known to the EFL and, having spoken with a number of CEOs at other Championship clubs, I am not a lone voice on this matter. We are absolutely appalled.”
Hoos said his club were desperately concerned about lack of time for the squad to get fit. “I don’t want a treatment room full of players going into next season,” he told the Guardian. “I don’t want to break players – I want to keep them intact.”
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