WHEN I FIRST learned about the spread of Covid-19 on the news a few months ago, I can’t say it was something I expected to have an impact on my life.
It sounded terrible and I sympathised with the people who were affected, but you don’t expect events as far away as China to have consequences here.
If you felt the same way, we now know how naive we had been.
While we eventually saw this coming, there was still a sense of being caught off guard by its arrival. The spread of the virus is now having consequences for the entire world.
Gearoid Morrissey in action for Cork City against Shelbourne last month.
Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO
It has been over three weeks since my Cork City team-mates and I played a game. At best, we’ll be back on the pitch in three months, but even that might be an overly-optimistic target.
On Thursday we’ll be paid by the club in full. We, along with many others, will be relying on the payments being distributed by the government thereafter.
For Cork City to announce that we won’t receive wages beyond this week was a difficult decision. It was also the only decision. I can’t comment on how things are being done at other clubs, but I know that this was a last-resort option.
To ensure that the club continues to exist beyond this difficult time, this was an unfortunate but necessary move. Attempting to continue paying us when there’s no matchday income would be impossible.
I have no doubt that the club has our best interests at heart, and that when the outlook becomes brighter again, our contracts will be honoured.
This is a very scary time, and financial worries are not even close to being the main reason for that. My main concern is for my family and friends.
Football provides me with a livelihood, but we can’t overcome this pandemic without temporarily pushing things like sport to one side.
If people, like me, have to put their careers on hold for a while in order for this threat to be eradicated and for my loved ones to stay healthy, I think that’s a relatively small sacrifice.
I know that football will still be there once this period passes, which is why I’ve generally tried to stay relaxed about the overall situation. Once nobody close to me is affected detrimentally by the virus, I’m confident my mindset will stay that way.