LONDON: Former England international and Manchester United star Wayne Rooney vented his anger by saying that footballers are treated like guinea pigs after the Premier League delayed on calling off the league until April 3 due to coronavirus outbreak.
Rooney, currently playing for second tier Derby, felt they should have acted quicker.
The former England captain said he would “never forgive” the authorities if his family fell ill as a result.
“Why did we wait until Friday? Why did it take Mikel Arteta to get ill for the game in England to do the right thing?” Rooney wrote in the Sunday Times. “For players, staff and their families it has been a worrying week – one in which you felt a lack of leadership from the government and from the FA and Premier League.
Arteta and Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive for the virus on Friday.
It was only after that football’s UK governing bodies called a temporary halt to the season.
“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.
“I know how I feel. If any of my family get infected through me because I’ve had to play when it’s not safe, and they get seriously ill, I’d have to think hard about ever playing again. I would never forgive the authorities.”
Many matches at non-league level were going ahead as scheduled in Britain this weekend and Rooney believes Prime Minister Boris Johnson “dodged” the issue by letting football make its own decision about playing on.
The 34-year-old claimed money was key to the authorities’ reluctance to cancel games.
