Footballers cuddle after scoring last night – despite Premier League telling them NOT to

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Just days after the Premier League was forced to issue tougher Covid rules to clubs outlawing hugging in goal celebrations, players breached them and embraced enthusiastically after each score in the top tier last night.

Football’s governing bodies have come under pressure from government to eradicate the casual breaches of social distancing rules on and off the pitch after a series of high-profile incidents.

But the Premier League still wants to leave it to the clubs to sanction players who break the rules. 

Ministers are concerned the flagrant abuse of social distancing by privileged footballers will cause a souring of the public mood and force them into a position where they feel compelled to shutdown elite sport.

And health experts have added their voices of concern over the unnecessary, increased risk of spreading coronavirus in celebratory scrums.

However, none of that held sway on the pitch last night as Everton, Wolves, Sheffield United and Manchester United all got up close and personal after netting crucial goals.

And two managers defended their players’ exuberant celebrations.

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder claimed it is ‘unnatural’ to stop players hugging after his team mobbed Billy Sharp, following the skipper’s penalty that set the Blades on their way to the first victory of the season.

‘It’s an emotional game,’ said Wilder. ‘We’ve talked before about the country looking at us and the other two games, I understood that. But it is an emotional game on the pitch and on the touchline… it is unnatural and unreal (not to celebrate).’

His comments are at odds with Premier League guidance, which was issued on Friday.

The protocols include avoiding ‘unnecessary contact at all times’ including ‘handshakes and hugging’, as well as instructions to wear face masks on the bench, spot checks of dressing rooms and team buses to ensure social distancing measures are being followed.

The Premier League says that the clubs should investigate and sanction ‘individual transgressions by relevant persons’.

And it adds: ‘Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action by the league individually against the relevant person, where appropriate, and/or against the club,’ according to the Telegraph. 

At Turf Moor, Paul Pogba’s well executed volley, which took United ahead of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League, prompted rapturous and intimate celebrations, followed by a dance between Pogba and Eric Bailly, which featured prominent handshake.

United boss, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said clubs ‘try our best’ to fall within the rules.

‘Football is a game that brings out the best and worst [emotions], but we also understand the concern that there should be less emotions and less hugging,’ he said after the victory.

‘But it is difficult when you score because you want to celebrate with your teammates. We will try our best to follow the guidelines, but it is difficult. We want football to continue.’

The Premier League transgressions come after the FA Cup third round ties at the weekend when teams almost universally engaged in group hugs and Chorley and Crawley Town celebrated with a singsong and champagne, respectively, in the dressing room.

And this comes after breaches of Covid rules by seven Premier League players form five clubs during the festive period, when they attended parties in breach

Government sources have told Sportsmail that there is ‘growing frustration’ among ministers who don’t want to see footballers breaking the rules in their private life or  hugging on the pitch.

It is felt the images ‘increasingly jar’ with the sight of doctors struggling to save lives in the overburdened NHS or the experience of most people who are locked down with no end in sight. 

On Tuesday, Dr Julian Tang,  a consultant virologist at Leicester Royal Infirmary and Associate Professor at the University of Leicester, said the way to tackle ‘celebratory scrums’, which are high risk for transmission, is to educate players and then impose a sanction, if only until most of the population is vaccinated. 

‘If you have a scrum you have close contact for several seconds and that can transmit the virus. 

‘You go home and you can spread it among your own bubble that can include elderly friends and family, which could put them in hospital or cause their death.

‘So, why take the risk to yourself or your contacts from a single 10 or 20 second scrum. You don’t have to do it.

‘If it happens once you get a yellow card and if it happens again you are off.

‘It is a disincentive for that contact, recognising that it could have much bigger consequences.’

However, the Premier League says there is no provision in the rules to punish transgressions on the pitch and wants clubs to take action against individuals where they fall foul of the rules. 

Last week, 36 players and staff from the Premier League tested positive for Covid from 2,295 tests. This is an infection rate of 1.39 per cent, compared to 2.06 per cent nationwide. 

Last week’s tests in the EFL revealed 123 cases out of 4,038 tests, an infection rate of 3.05 per cent.

Latest data revealed that 45,533 people tested positive for the virus on Monday, taking the seven-day average down by 0.5 per cent – the first fall in weeks. 

However, some government scientists fear the true case rate is more than 250,000 a day.