PREMIER LEAGUE chiefs will send spy squads into club training grounds to prevent managers cheating their way past return-to-work rules.
The 20 Prem clubs “unanimously” agreed a return to “Stage One” training from Tuesday, allowing players to undergo non-contact work individually or in groups of up to five.
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But with many of the clubs simply not trusting each other to obey the rules, league bosses have assembled a crack squad of snoops who have the right to demand entry and check nobody is sneaking in extra sessions or banned contact work.
That will include being able to order clubs to hand over video of sessions and their player monitoring equipment.
Premier League director of football Richard Garlick said: “We have put in place rules and protocols around our ability to monitor clubs.
“We can request information from videoing of the sessions and GPS data, too, to show how much a team has been training.”
Garlick added: “We are also looking at bringing in our own independent audit inspection team that we’ll scale up over the next few days.
“That will give us the ability to have inspections at training grounds, to start with on a no-notice basis.
“Gradually, we aim to ramp that up so we can have an inspector or monitor at every training ground.
“We hope that will give everyone confidence that the protocols are being complied with.”
The move is a signal that Prem chiefs – who might have to show games for free – recognise unscrupulous bosses might consider compromising health and safety to gain a precious advantage.
Clubs have been told the estimated June 12 restart date is likely to be shoved back by as much as a fortnight, helping to meet managers’ requests for extra preparation time once the green light for “Stage Two” contact work is received.
All top flight players have been tested for Covid-19 in the past 48 hours and league bosses promised that the number of positive tests, and the amount of clubs involved, will be announced on Tuesday afternoon, although it will be down to the clubs themselves to confirm specific details.
But the League’s medical chief Mark Gillett warned fans they may have to accept that football is played behind closed doors for a YEAR.
Gillett said: “It’s very clear the public and social health situation is not going to change in the next six to 12 months.
“It is important that people understand that they will have to see these cultural changes.”
League bosses hope to be able to confirm the move to Stage Two on Tuesday before clubs face D-Day 48 hours later in a video meeting designed to thrash out all the remaining issues.
Those include whether the club desire to be able to play out the remaining 92 fixtures in their home grounds rather than neutral venues.
Prem chief executive Richard Masters said: “In terms of venues, yes we are working with clubs.
“The Government has asked football to come forward with its proposals. We are planning to do that and have asked our clubs for lots of information. It’s an ongoing discussion.
“But we did notice that in Germany this weekend we didn’t have any fan issues, congregations or gatherings. It was a positive start.”
