On Friday night, plans were underway to implement a new policy that would exclude unvaccinated Premier League footballers and other UK-based sportspeople from the Government’s “elite sport exemption” regarding COVID-19. This measure would require athletes to quarantine for five to ten days upon their return to the UK from a foreign country.
The potential impact of this crackdown on unvaccinated athletes is significant across various sports:
Football
Football is the primary focus of this initiative, with current statistics showing that 16% of Premier League players and 25% of English Football League players remain unvaccinated. The new policy would restrict unjabbed Premier League players from going on holiday during the upcoming winter break and could affect their participation in the Africa Cup of Nations. These players may also be unable to compete in away legs of Champions League and Europa League matches or miss domestic games upon their return. Clubs might refuse to release unvaccinated players, including those from the English national team, for international duty. Additionally, foreign pre-season tours and summer holidays could be impacted, not to mention the potentially affected participation in the World Cup at the end of the year.
Rugby Union
The Six Nations matches and European club games could be the first to be impacted by this rule change. Players like Henry Slade, who admitted last year to not having received the vaccine, could potentially face consequences. Weekly elite rugby union matches require adequate recovery time, so unvaccinated players banned from training leading up to the games might miss the matches. This policy could also affect players returning to the UK after touring Australia, Argentina, and South Africa this summer. Premiership Rugby reports that 96% of its players have already been fully vaccinated.
Cricket
Considering Australia’s refusal to allow Novak Djokovic entry, it is likely that all members of England’s Ashes squad are either fully vaccinated or have valid medical exemptions. However, unjabbed players in their Twenty20 squad could face consequences upon their return from the West Indies series this month. The policy might also affect any player participating in the lucrative Indian Premier League.
Tennis
Unvaccinated British tennis players would not face obstacles in participating at both the French Open and Wimbledon. However, they would need to ensure their presence in the UK well in advance of Wimbledon’s start date on June 27. As top tennis players primarily spend their time on international tours, playing in the UK mainly during the grass-court season, the new policy would not apply to non-residents like Djokovic, allowing him to defend his Wimbledon title without impediments.
Golf
An unvaccinated British golfer might have to skip overseas warm-up events for the Open or Women’s Open to avoid being banned from participating. However, this would not affect their participation in other major tournaments. Female golfers could face restrictions if they play both the Evian Championship from July 21-24 and the Women’s Open from August 4-7.
Formula One
Considering that most Formula One teams are based in the UK, unvaccinated individuals traveling to races before returning home to Britain would face significant difficulties due to this government crackdown. However, it is unlikely that individuals in a technologically advanced sport like Formula One would be anti-vaxxers.
Athletics
If unvaccinated track-and-field athletes travel from the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham to the World Championships in Eugene, they might face restrictions due to the days-apart scheduling of these events. Similar to footballers, unjabbed athletes would face challenges when returning to the UK and training between competitions held worldwide.
Cycling
Ineos Grenadiers, based in the UK, have already ensured that all their riders are fully vaccinated. Within the cycling community, an unofficial “no jab, no ride” policy seems to have been adopted, considering many competitors spend their year living in countries like Spain and Italy.
Boxing
Unvaccinated British boxers might be affected by the new rules, but as boxing matches are infrequent, the crackdown would only come into play if a boxer returns from an overseas training camp for a bout in the UK.
Winter Olympics
Unvaccinated athletes were already facing effective exclusion from the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing due to the mandatory 21-day quarantine. Consequently, anyone selected to represent Great Britain would almost certainly have received both vaccine doses.
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