Karren Brady is delighted that football is continuing if – not as normal – as close to it as can be allowed during the present crisis.
There are obviously those – and it’s a reasonable shout – who claim that if everybody else is being locked down then football should be too.
But as she points out these are awful, awful days and we all need something to take our minds off the horrors we read and hear of every day and that’s at a time when vaccines are on the way.
However, we are where where we are and there won’t be many fans – fair minded though they may be – who would argue that morally the game should be halted.
Newcastle boss Steve Bruce claims it’s morally wrong to continue and there will be many who hold the same view but Brady has no doubt that the right decision has been made in allowing the game to continue.
Writing in The Sun she says: “I’m really happy that football has been given the green light to carry on.
OK, there have been lapses at clubs — including my own — but the good news is that football is still being played, allowing us all to have something to cherish during these difficult winter months.
There has been criticism that the games have come too thick and fast but people should understand the fixture list is so congested because the league has to finish in time for the scheduled European Championships in June.
There simply isn’t space in the calendar for any lengthy postponement of fixtures.
Now there are those who may argue that football and other sports should also be locked down but I would counter that with two factors.
Allowing elite sports to carry on is good for the nation’s health — and boy, do we need that right now.
Also, sportsmen and women have been extremely professional in following the Covid guidelines and, as such, they are clearly not putting any further strain on the NHS.
These are grim times as winter has set in and this blasted coronavirus just refuses to go away.
When Lockdown 1.0 happened at the end of March, the sun was shining, spring was blooming and it felt very different.
We now know what we are dealing with and it is very nasty.
But I think common sense has prevailed both north and south of the border with English and Scottish football continuing.
True, we are treating elite sports as a special case but surely there has to be some give and take in these dark days.
Football allows us to dream. It makes us laugh and cry. It makes us feel alive as we support our teams, albeit from the comfort of the sofa in front of the TV.
At least during Lockdown 3.0 we can enjoy a little semblance of normality.
For 90 minutes our hopes and fears over Covid-19 can take a back seat.”