How will Liga MX address Covid-19 challenges?
Rules and regulations were flouted during the Copa GNP
Welcome back, Liga MX!
Fans of Mexican soccer will be able to tune into the Guardianes 2020 season beginning on Thursday night.
The what? That’s right. Liga MX officials branded the upcoming season in honor of health-care professionals taking care of the public during the pandemic. So let’s get used to that – Guardianes 2020.
This is not unprecedented, by the way. The Clausura 2010 was renamed Bicentenario 2010 in honor of Mexico’s Bicentennial celebrations in September of that year. And in 1985, league officials condensed the 1985-86 season to a short-season tournament from July to October 1985 so that El Tri could have a full year of training before the 1986 World Cup hosted by Mexico.
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It will have been more than four months since the Clausura 2020 was cut short by the pandemic and health and safety regulations will take front and center … or so they say.
Although protocols have been announced and guidelines enforced by clubs, there have been more than 80 confirmed cases of Covid-19 reported across Liga MX and Liga MX Femenil, and that doesn’t count the five positives reported by Necaxa on Monday. The Rayos are scheduled to host the Tigres on Friday.
The Tigres have seen this scenario already. They played the Chivas in the Copa GNP on July 8 and found out two days later that Guadalajara coach Luis Fernando Tena tested positive the day after the match.
So despite the best efforts of Liga MX bigwigs and health officials, widespread contagion can’t be ruled out. Coaches might be frantically juggling rosters and fans might not see teams at full strength as the Guardianes 2020 progresses through to the playoffs which should kick off in late November.
We can also legitimately ask how strictly the league’s disciplinary officers will enforce the game-day regulations already announced. If the Copa GNP is any indication, they’ll fall far sort of best practices.
América coach Miguel Herrera did not wear a mask during the Aguilas group-stage opener and columnists raked him over the coals for setting a bad example. When he again failed to wear a mask during América’s second match, he was asked by reporters afterward why he refused to don a mask. Incredibly, “El Piojo” claimed he did not know it was a requirement.
The game-day protocols had been widely broadcast – masks for coaches, masks for players on the bench, social distancing for players and coaches on the bench, total attendance limited to 300 people and attendance restricted to game officials, players and coaches, TV crews, and specified photographers and reporters. Yet the coach of the team owned by the country’s biggest television network still did not know the rules going into his team’s second match! Not credible.
Worse still, the league took no action. There was apparently no consequences for flouting the regulations agreed upon by health authorities and league officials.
On Thursday night, UNAM coach Miguel González and several members of his staff were seen sitting in box seats at his club’s home stadium, the site of the Copa GNP. They were there to watch the Chivas-América semifinal match. Now, a Super Clásico is hard to pass up, but their attendance was strictly against the established regulations. Also scattered among the seats for that match were several local politicians and borough officials.
Next. Cementeros claim Copa GNP. dark
If the league fails to take a hard line against these – and similar – transgressions, soccer fans in Mexico will surely be disappointed by the product that Liga MX delivers, especially if games are suspended or postponed, or teams disqualified.