Antonio Conte says he cannot 'force' Tottenham players to get vaccinated despite Covid outbreak at club
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Published 17/12/2021 at 16:47 GMT
The Italian has seen his side's last two Premier League games postponed after a number of positive Covid cases. Conte revealed that he had been vaccinated, but felt he could not put pressure on his players to do the same. Spurs are believed to have more than 85% of their players already double-jabbed.
'I can’t force anyone to take a personal decision ' - Conte
Antonio Conte has insisted that he cannot 'force' Tottenham's players to get vaccinated despite the recent Covid-19 outbreak at the club.
Spurs are set to return to Premier League action with a fixture against Liverpool on Sunday, having seen their last two league games postponed.
Games against Brighton and Leicester, along with the Europa Conference League encounter with Rennes, were called off as a number of positive coronavirus cases caused disruption at the club.
Revealing that he himself had been vaccinated, Conte encouraged his players to do likewise, but said it remains a choice for the individual.
“Every single person, every single player or member of staff at Tottenham or at other clubs, has to take the decision for himself,” Conte said ahead of hosting Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.
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“I took my decision, my family took their own decision. But I can’t force anyone to take a personal decision because I think that’s not right.
“It’s very difficult to get in the head of another person. I’ve been vaccinated and my family, my daughter and wife, they did the same. But for sure, this matter is a personal matter.
“I’d like that other people do the same but every single person has to take the best decision for himself.”
Jurgen Klopp's side are set to visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a number of Covid-forced absentees of their own.
Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones all missed the 3-1 win against Newcastle after returning positive tests.
Premier League clubs are set to meet on Monday to discuss whether a "circuit-breaker" could be utilised in a bid to prevent further fixture pile-up caused by the surging Omicron variant.
Conte would not say he was against a temporary pause, but emphasised that his side are ready to take on Liverpool, who are second in the league.
“We are ready to follow the rules and we are ready to play, and we’re ready to do what they [the Premier League] tell us to do,” Conte explained. “There are rules and we have to follow them and respect this. We’re ready to do this.
“For sure the situation is not simple [or] easy for all the teams. We’re prepared to play every game. It was the same against Leicester, the same against Rennes, the same in every game they decided to postpone.”
Tottenham are now seventh in the Premier League, but have played three fewer games than Arsenal and West Ham in fourth and fifth after their clash with Burnley fell victim to Storm Arwen in November.
Conte's side would climb clear of their London rivals if they complete their outstanding business with triple success.
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