Match Day Thread Premier League, Cups & Euro Watch

Difficult to be sympathetic when you see reports like this,isn't it?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52740861

 

BAME is used in the UK to describe people who are not white. Therefore he surely falls into that category? Not sure about the mixed race being no more at risk of white people though I'll take your word for it.

Think his biggest concern is probably his young child with breathing difficulties though. Fair play to him I say.

 

BAME is exactly what it says, black, Asian and minority ethnicity - not mixed ethnicity. Deeney may well regard himself as black as people are free to self define ethnicity and membership to an ethnic group that is subjectively meaningful to them. However, he made a factual error in his statement by claiming the 'm' as standing for mixed when it doesn't. It stands for minority. There is a big difference. The fact he doesn't know that he isn't BAME is a bit odd. He can't act as an unofficial spokesman for a group he doesn't belong to.

For the purposes we are talking about, medical conditions and the risks to certain ethnicities, he doesn't have that added risk because mixed ethnicity is classified in the same risk group for this virus along with white and Chinese. He is no doubt scared of the virus which is understandable especially with having a little one at home. He phrased it 'my son is 5 months old and had breathing difficulties.' Which could suggest he no longer does. If he was premature he would have had help to breathe because his little lungs wouldn't have been fully developed to manage on their own. That rights itself within a short time or he would still be in hospital. Either way, and guesswork aside, he has a baby who he wants to protect and that's admirable. We have 2 players with three month old babies (there will be lots of players in similar situations) and I'm sure they are just as caring about protecting their little ones as well. You could say Deeney is making it look like he cares about his baby and those going back to training don't.

The other part of his statement isn't logical - why can't he get his hair cut but he can play football and why if its not safe for fans is it for players. His barber won't be being tested twice a week nor will any of his many customers. He will. The fans in the stadium won't be being tested twice a week, lots will be elderly, infirm and from vulnerable groups. The '19 other players in the penalty box' will all be healthy, young, fit and being tested twice a week. Footballers will be in the safest workplaces on the planet. Tested, disinfected and protected as much as is humanly possible. He will be in environments that will be as close to being risk free as you can get ( with the understanding obviously that nothing is risk free).

I had a soft spot for Deeney because I know he is from a troubled background and has had mental health issues and I respect that he's fought to get through that but his statements are doing him no favours whatsoever. They are factually incorrect and illogical. He was asked why he felt he shouldn't go back to work when people are working in supermarkets untested and facing hundreds of untested people everyday and he replied 'I have to go to the supermarket too'. ????

If he doesn't want to go to training and be tested regularly then that's up to him and his employer, he shouldn't be forced to do something he's uncomfortable with but he should keep it between himself and his employer, we don't need to know.

 

The Cambridge dictionary defines BAME as:

"abbreviation for Black, Asian, and minority ethnic: used to refer to people in the UK who are not white"

So I'd argue that by that definition he is BAME despite him getting the acronym wrong - which I agree he should probably get correct if he's making points reference it.

The shopping angle doesn't make sense to me as that's an essential industry while professional sport evidently isn't. If it's only about getting people back to work then we may as well reopen the pubs hadn't we? Sure there's a pub owner or two who'd happily test staff if they were allowed to open up.

You could say he's trying to make others look bad but it'd be a pretty ****ish thing to say imo, and with nothing to really back it up unless you (Royal, not you specifically) simply don't like what he's saying. Might also be a case of he's speaking on others behalf who don't have the confidence/influence? Though that's speculation on my part really.

I don't buy this 'safest' employees thing tbh. Being tested doesn't actually reduce the chances of catching it, and they're among a small group where physical contact with others is essential. It also relies on everybody sticking to quarantine which we already know isn't happening. Being tested on a Thursday doesn't mean you're still clear on a Saturday.

I also don't agree that 'we don't need to know that', I'm very interested to hear about players who don't want to play and their reasons behind it.

 

Yeah, but they're paid well so ****'em

 

Ha, that's one thing that I would be really interested to know regards Deeney actually.

You'd imagine that, while Watford are supportive of his decision now, they're not going to be committing to paying him a full salary for nothing in return for an extremely long period.

 

Back to training today then...can’t f#cking wait fir football to return.

 

@Libby I agree with the dictionary definition, it's exactly what I said. You can argue all you like that he's BAME but for the purposes of putting him in a risk group for this virus, he simply isn't and it's misleading of him to say he is. He is quite clearly saying that he doesn't want to go back to training because he feels he's at greater risk because of his ethnicity. He's wrong. I don't think he even realises that BAME individuals aren't at greater risk of getting the virus, they are at higher risk for having more severe complications.

Being tested doesn't reduce the individual's chance of getting it, that's not how it works. It greatly reduces the chances of others getting it. Imagine if the staff member at Watford hadn't found out he had it, he would be a walking spreading machine, I'm sure he's been out to the supermarket for instance, posted a few letters licked the envelope. Multiply the other 5 who've tested positive by the amount of people they would come into social distance contact with and you're saving lives by putting the people who tested in strict quarantine, bearing in mind we are in lockdown already and they've picked it up from somewhere.

In a few weeks time many non-essential jobs will be back - football included - children will be back in school, barbers will be open and Troy can sit at home with a nice trim, eating the food that someone manufactured, trucked and delivered to him while he sits safely on his couch watching the match on the telly. He may or may not have a job to go back to. He's very fortunate to be in a position to have a choice about whether or not he wants to work again when most don't. It's his choice and he has a right to make it. Personally, I hope he and his family stay well, safe and healthy but other than that, I don't care whether he returns to football or not.

 

Industry will be returning with social distancing, Football is a high contact sport. To pretend there’s equivalence is disingenuous.

His point about the BAME community was valid irrespective of whether he himself falls into that category, as his actual point was that BAME individuals are at greater risk, and he’s right.

His main concern was his 5 month old child, and if he’s not comfortable increasing the risk to his household, then that’s his choice, as is his decision to publicly voice his concerns. Concerns that appear more valid today, given 3 of the 6 most recent positive tests have been at his club.

 

How have the tests made his concerns appear more valid? No one was ever proposing he goes back to work without testing in place. Were you expecting PL staff to somehow have zero cases?

If he's planning to live with zero contact with the outside world for the next couple of years then fair enough but his job is the only place he'll meet people he knows have passed a coronavirus test.

 

Why do you, and seemingly thousands of other Kopites all over social media today, care so much about his decision?

It’s literally none of your ****ing business as it’s not a choice you have to make.

 

I don't care about his decision I care about people using his decision to talk nonsense. I don't understand your comment that positive tests somehow support his concern.

In return I might ask you why so many non-Liverpool fans care about null and void when the PL will make their own decision without asking any of them?

 

And there we have it....

Case closed.

 

What case is closed? The case that you can't justify your claim of positive tests justifying his concern?

 

I’ll leave you to figure it out.

 

So you've #backpedaled on his concerns being more valid after positive tests. At least you recognise your mistake.

 

He was getting a lot of praise on social media with people saying more should take his stance. Easy when you're a millionaire though isn't it...?

 

He's claiming we don't like Deeney's actions because if more did it then the league could potentially be null & void.

 

I've just reread Deeney's statement and it's even less factually correct than I thought. ""Black Asian and mixed ethnicities are four times more likely to get the illness".

I've already said about him using the word mixed instead of minority but only just realised he said 'more likely to get the illness'. No they aren't. If they get the virus they have more chance of it being fatal or having more complications but they absolutely aren't more likely to catch it. The ONS study where the figures have come from that he's talking about is a fatality study. I don't think there are any figures out there that show the ethnic split on those who have or have had the virus. He's giving out very dangerous misinformation.

I support his decision not to train, he is obviously very worried and his heart is in the right place in looking out for his family but he shouldn't be giving out any more statements until he checks his facts very thoroughly.

 

Null and void has never been on the cards, nothing but the desperate fantasy of relegation cowards and ABLs.