LaLiga president Javier Tebas remains hopeful of resuming the first and second division seasons in Spain on June 12, saying there will be "practically zero" risk for players during games.
Tebas, talking on El Partidazo de Movistar, laid out the league's plans for getting the season finished behind closed doors - including how player testing had gone and some innovative ideas they had for making the games better on TV.
Players have resumed training this week with the June 12 restart in mind, and the five players across the top two divisions that have tested positive for Covid-19 in the latest tests were "less than expected" according to Tebas.
All five unnamed players are asymptomatic and in the final phase of the disease but have gone into quarantine and will be unable to return to group training until they have had two negative tests.
As ever, the health of the nation comes first, but Tebas says he's still hopeful that the June 12 target can be met.
“I’d like it to be June 12th but we have to be careful," he told Movistar. "It will depend on many factors such as potential a rise in infections, factors which don’t depend on football but on Spanish society. We have to be very careful and focused on following the health measures. The virus is still there. With less infections, but it’s still there.”
Players face 'practically zero' risk
Although Premier League players have voiced their concerns at returning to the field, Tebas was confident that players face only a slim risk when being on the pitch, according to their research.
“The risk during games will be zero, or practically zero, because the players will be tested - with only a 5% possible failure rate - 24 hours before," Tebas said.
"During the game… there’s a university study from the Danish and German Health Ministries which has calculated how long a player is less than a metre away from another during a football match. Out of 22 players on the pitch, the most time one would spend within a metre of another is 67 seconds, and not face to face.
"For the virus to be transmitted, they’d have to be at that proximity for more than 15 minutes, and that won’t happen.”
New technology & 'football every day'
Playing with no fans in the stadium is an obvious downside to the resumption of football, but Tebas says that the combination of new broadcast technology and ideas, along with the fact football will be played every day for a month, will lift spirits.
“We’re working together with national and international broadcasters on how to watch football avoiding the empty stands, the echo… we hope to have some solid plans this week.
"We’re carrying out virtual tests and on acoustics too. I don’t want to pre-empt anything, given that we won’t be able to have fans in the stadiums, but the alternatives will be very interesting and groundbreaking when it comes to football broadcasts.
"Things will change, we’ll be able to move cameras to generate new angles, for example. Not having fans in the stadium is a tragedy, but we’re going to make the most of situation to ensure that those watching at home can enjoy the football as much as possible.
"Once LaLiga restarts, there’ll be football every day. That’s the idea, football every day so that we can finish the competition."
After Dynamo Dresden announced their whole squad has been put in self-isolation following some positive tests for coronavirus, Tebas insisted that if LaLiga teams followed the rules there is no chance of an outbreak occurring.
“We’ve never contemplated the idea of not finishing the season. What happened in Germany cannot happen and, what’s more, it won’t happen," he said.
"It’s impossible for a club to have five positive cases at the same time. If it does happen it’s down to negligence or not adhering to the health protocol.”
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