• As players, we were the last people to be consulted about Project Restart and that is because of where we fall in football’s order of priority — Mings
• There are also strict protocols in place regarding hygiene at training grounds in order to safeguard against the spread of the virus.
Image: /REUTERS
Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings says the players were the “last people to be consulted” over the Premier League’s “financially driven” ‘Project Restart’.
The Premier League is set to resume on June 17 following its shutdown because of the coronavirus outbreak.
There were no positive results in the most recent batch of tests at clubs and the UK government said sport can return behind closed doors from June 1.
Defender Mings, 27, also claimed players are ‘commodities in the game’.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mings added: “The motives are possibly 100% financially driven rather than integrity driven.”
“Project Restart is financially driven. I think everybody accepts that. I am all for playing again because we have no other choice. As players, we were the last people to be consulted about Project Restart and that is because of where we fall in football’s order of priority. That isn’t a problem.”
“We got the option to come back to training and that’s fine because we didn’t have to but if the FA and the EFL and the government and Uefa and the Premier League all say you are going back to play, it really doesn’t make any difference what the players think because you are going back to play. It is get in or get out.”
The Premier League did not comment on Mings’ statements when contacted by BBC Sport. English football’s top-flight has conducted 3,882 tests for the virus on players and staff at clubs in recent weeks, with 12 positive results.
No individual tested positive from 1,130 tests conducted on Thursday and Friday. The return to training has been broken into phases ranging from small group sessions where social distancing was in place to contact training introduced this week.
There are also strict protocols in place regarding hygiene at training grounds in order to safeguard against the spread of the virus.
Players including Newcastle’s on-loan full-back Danny Rose and Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero have raised concerns about football’s return during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, England’s second tier Championship plans to resume play on June 20, more than three months after it was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the English Football League (EFL) has said.
The provisional date was subject to all safety requirements and government guidance being met and clubs receiving clearance from local authorities to stage home matches.
Clubs are set to resume full contact training this week, with the government saying that competitive sport in England can return from Monday behind closed doors provided strict conditions are met.
“Whilst matches will unfortunately have to take place without supporters, we are working with our broadcast partners, EFL Championship Clubs and all relevant stakeholders to broadcast the remaining 108 games,” EFL chairman Rick Parry said in a statement.
He said the games, and the Championship playoffs, will be either live on subscription-based Sky Sports, iFollow or a club’s equivalent streaming service.
“We must stress that at this stage the date is only provisional and will only be confirmed once we have met all the requirements,” said Parry of the June resumption. “Clearly completing the season in a safe manner is going to require a significant effort by all concerned and, whilst not unprecedented, it will need clubs to play a significant number of matches over a relatively short period of time.”
Leeds United lead the standings, a point ahead of West Bromwich Albion. Fulham, Brentford, Nottingham Forest and Preston North End occupy the playoff spots while Charlton Athletic, Luton Town and Barnsley are the bottom three.
No Championship matches have been played since March 8. The EFL said the Championship play-off final would be on or around July 30.
It was also agreed to consider changing the regulations to allow the use of five substitutes in the remaining fixtures and an increase in the matchday squad from 18 to 20 players. The Premier League, the world’s richest league, has already announced it plans to restart on June 17.