Premier League bans handshake between players and match officials

The English Premier has on Thursday banned handshakes between players and match officials when leaving the dugout during the start of the game due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The ban was placed on Wednesday until further notice on medical advice.
The traditional pre-match walkouts will still be held but teams have been advised not to shake hands.

Some English clubs had already set in rules to risk the spread of coronavirus between players – Steve Bruce last week said the Newcastle team have stopped their morning handshake rituals, while the West Ham boss David Moyes said their players will be fist bumping instead of shaking hands.

The Premier League released a statement on Thursday setting the new rules to contain the spread of coronavirus:

“The Premier League fair-play handshake will not take place between players and match officials from this weekend until further notice based on medical advice.

“Coronavirus is a spread via droplets from nose and mouth and can be transmitted onto the hands and passed on via handshake.
“Club and Match Officials will still perform the rest of the traditional walk-out protocol ahead of each fixture.
“On entering the field of play, the two teams will continue to line up, accompanied by the Premier League music, then players from the home team will walk past their opposition without shaking their hands.”

In Italy where the number of affected persons is fast rising, the Serie A had scheduled most matches to be played behind closed doors.