The Major League Soccer Players’ Association says just about 20% of the league’s gamers examined sure for the coronavirus over the process the season.
Bob Foose, govt director of the union, published the leads to a convention name with newshounds Thursday.
“During a time when most professionals were working at home, our players were going to work every day, really just about every single day. Almost 20% of the players in the league at one point or another were infected with the virus, which meant that those who became infected and those who didn’t become infected became dangers and dangerous to their partners, their family and their friends just by virtue of doing their jobs,” Foose mentioned.
MLS didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark at the determine, which might imply about 150 gamers examined sure. The league’s protocols known as for a number of exams to verify instances. Some of the league’s gamers additionally examined sure simplest after world responsibility.
MLS groups had performed simply two video games earlier than the season used to be suspended in March. The league regrouped to carry the MLS is Back match in a bubble in Florida this summer season.
Teams then returned to native markets to finish an abbreviated season. The MLS Cup championship recreation between the Seattle Sounders and the Columbus Crew is about for Saturday.
The league and the union reached a brand new five-year collective bargaining settlement in early February, but it surely had now not been ratified when the season used to be placed on cling.
The two facets renegotiated the deal in June forward of the match, agreeing to a brand new one who integrated across-the-board pay cuts and decreased bonuses.
Foose mentioned there are fears that MLS may invoke a clause integrated within the transformed contract that may necessarily permit the league to withdraw from the deal and renegotiate if adversarial financial prerequisites exist.
“We negotiated hard for that clause, but at this time, there’s nothing really for me to add as to when and if that clause would be triggered,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber mentioned right through his annual State of the League cope with previous this week.
Foose mentioned invoking the clause “would be a mistake.”
“The force majeure clause was added to the CBA at a time when we didn’t have any idea what 2021 was going to look like, and it was intended to be used in the event of a catastrophic impact on the league’s ability to conduct its business at that point,” he mentioned.
LAFC midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye mentioned a 3rd contract negotiation could be adverse to the league.
“I think if we go into another situation like that, there’s going to be guys around the world who are going to look at this and be like, we don’t want to come to MLS because it’s too exhausting having to do something like that,” Kaye mentioned.
Foose recommended the deliberate get started of the 2021 season will have to be driven again. In his cope with, Garber mentioned the league deliberate on an early to mid-March get started.
Foose mentioned the season used to be in particular grueling, each emotionally and bodily, with U.S. gamers clear of their households for as many as 75 days, and 120 days for Canadian plyers as a result of trip restrictions. An early March get started date method bringing gamers again to camp as early as January.
“We’ve made that clear to the league that we’d like to see it pushed back,” Foose mentioned. “At the end of the day, that’s not something that we control. So we’ll have to see where they come out.”