Almost all Serie A players are vaccinated against Covid, compared to half in Premier League

You gotta pump those up, those are rookie numbers

Serie A boasts a Covid vaccination rate of 98 per cent among players and staff, according to a report in Italian newspaper La Repubblica. As reported in the Mail, there are only 20 people working in Italy's top flight who are yet to be vaccinated against the virus, with five all working for the same club. Those who have been vaccinated in Italy are no longer subject to mandatory testing every 48 hours, while those who haven't received the jab are required to test negative every two days in order to take part in training and play in matches. Not every club in Italy has provided its full data to the league, but it has been reported that at least seven Serie A clubs have a 100 per cent vaccination rate. Elsewhere in Europe, approximately 94 per cent of Bundesliga players and staff have been jabbed. Compare this to the Premier League and it is clear how far behind the UK lags behind in getting its footballers vaccinated. Clubs in England have been reluctant to release any information about how many of their players are getting the jab, but the BBC recently reported that there are only seven top flight clubs with more than half their squad fully vaccinated. Tammy Abraham, who now plays for Roma in Serie A and the England national side, has revealed that he is vaccinated, but, like his England teammates who were asked, stressed it is a personal choice. Fikayo Tomori, another England international playing in Serie A, declined to reveal his vaccination status but said: "We're public figures, in the public eye, so I definitely see why people are wondering or asking, 'If they're going to take it, I'm going to take it', 'If they're not going to take it, I'm not going to take it'.

"I don't think it's my place to put it out there if I've done this or done that to influence people. It's to leave people to their own if they want to do it or not."

The footballing authorities in England have tried to convince players to get the jab, but those attempts are falling on deaf ears, with the Mail reporting that a quarter of footballers in the EFL have no intention of getting the vaccine.

In order to incentivise players to get fully vaccinated against the virus, English footballing authorities may have to adopt a similar approach to the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA, who have banned their star player Kyrie Irving from participating in practice or playing games until he is vaccinated.