No Vax players, the Premier League gives a prize to the club with the most vaccinations. The example of Nba- Corriere.it

There are those who do not do so “for religious reasons”, some because they feel invulnerable, and those who have changed their minds, like LeBron James. Maybe after discovering that No vax positions can cost a lot. Even in the wallet, the NBA has in fact just launched a tightening on unvaccinated athletes. They risk very high fines, exclusions from matches, even the job. Given that they could only play in some US states where there is no obligation to Green Pass. Impossible in a tournament where you take the field every three days. There is a front of riotous and skeptics that frightens top sport, from US basketball to English football. It is a minority, it makes no noise, but it risks blowing up millionaire deals and prizes. The Premier League, the equivalent of our Serie A, is about to launch a series of direct economic incentives to the clubs with the most vaccinated.

The case of Kanté with Chelsea

The news was supposed to remain confidential, and when it came out it created a lot of embarrassment. The goal is twofold: to convince the undecided and prevent them from skipping matches due to infections, also in anticipation of a possible increase in cases in the winter season, or the tightening of government measures that impose the green certificate on those who participate in large mass events.
There are no official data on immunized athletes, companies and interested parties hide behind privacy. But according to the Federation’s estimates, it emerges that only 7 teams out of the 20 teams enrolled in the championship have 50% of the double dose members: “We still have a long way to go” is the gist of the message. There are exceptions: Leeds, Wolverhampton and Brentford all hit 90-100%. Striking cases, such as the positivity of Kanté, the French Chelsea midfielder who missed the Champions League match against Juve (he was not vaccinated, heavy absence for Tuchel) have turned on the headlights on a burning issue that had already leaked in recent months. When an internal poll appeared according to which one in three footballers refused the serum.

The British paradox

And it is a beautiful paradox in the country that first of all has started a massive vaccination campaign. The statistics speak for themselves: 71.8% of the British population received at least one dose. A slightly lower percentage than France (74.3%), Italy (74.6%) and Spain (80.1%). With Portugal leading the ranking of the most virtuous (87.8%), second only to the Arab Emirates which however have a very limited number of inhabitants (less than ten million). Thanks to the London government strategy, 93.6 million doses were inoculated. The increase in Covid cases was 11.3% for a total of 36,772, the Rt index is 0.9. There are 904 victims in the last seven days, almost all restrictions have been dropped since July. Only the richest league in the world seems to go against the grain, even if the question is much more complex than it seems.

The knot of the call-up to the South American national team

Abstaining from the vaccine also creates other problems for players and clubs, not just health. Especially for foreigners, especially South Americans and Africans, who have to respond to the calls of their national teams. The Premier League in fact, it has established that only those who have the double dose can be exempted from the mandatory quarantine provided for those traveling to countries at greatest risk, those included in the government “red list”, the agreement will be made official in the coming days. Such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, South Africa, just to name a few. In such a framework, “no vax” behavioral positions would create enormous economic damage to English clubs, since the players involved with their Nationals, having to respect isolation, would be unavailable for long periods. The matter had become a world diplomatic case: the football government, Fifa, had threatened disqualifications to those players who had no answers to calls from their countries of origin.