Professional footballers should get vaccinated, not for themselves, but for those around them, according to Republic of Ireland legend John Giles.
According to the latest statistics, only a very slim majority of footballers in England have received their second vaccination. The reports suggest that currently only
The current statistics, published on Thursday, suggest that only 68% of players in the Premier League are double jabbed. Additionally, only 25% of players across the three leagues in England stated that they have no intention of being vaccinated.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is one of the managers in the Premier League that has come out strongly in favour of vaccinations.
Giles strongly supported the German manager in his backing of vaccinating players.
Speaking on Off The Ball on Thursday, Giles discussed why he believes all players that are eligible should get the vaccine.
"This is not a situation where you don't believe you should have a vaccination, like with other illnesses, and it doesn't affect anybody else," Giles said.
"The problem with this virus is you are passing it on to others. It is not just about you. It is about people you are working with or playing with in a football sense.
"You can pass it onto them. So, it's not just about you!"
While Giles does understand certain people would be ineligible to be vaccinated, he stressed that those that are eligible and choose not to are being selfish.
"I can understand people for certain religious reasons doing certain things," Giles said. "If it's not right, it affects them. But they are not passing on the illness to other people.
"In this situation, people are passing it on and they don't even know that they are passing it on! This is the problem. It's not just about the individual. It is about their colleagues in football and passing it onto other players."
Giles: 'I am still scared'
Earlier in the year, Giles revealed to OTB Sports that he was scared of the virus. He had not been out of his home for a number of months at that point, and was being supported by neighbours and family.
Now, after receiving his booster vaccination recently, Giles still fears catching the virus with the knowledge of what that might mean.
"I'm still scared!" Giles said. "You read about it and even people who have the vaccination and all the various things can still pick up the illness.
"So, I still want to be very, very careful. I just don't see the logic... people just don't want to have it done. Funny enough, professional footballers have the biggest rate of not getting the vaccination for some reason.
"I think, maybe, it is because they are young and healthy, they feel that they are not going to die from it. But, the thing is, and I keep repeating myself here, they pass it onto other people who are not as lucky. So, I just don't get it."
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