27 May 2020

Hall praises Club Doncaster board for efforts during COVID-19 pandemic

Carl Hall has praised the Club Doncaster board of directors during COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to the Proper Sport podcast, Hall admitted that he’s been struggling without the sport and that he can’t wait to get back once it’s safe to do so.

“I feel really lost without the game,” he said.

“I don’t think I realised the size of the role this sport played in my life and it’s been tough. It hasn’t been easy for anyone.

“The impact on both us and Doncaster Rovers is big. It’s a sporting business Club Doncaster but it’s well led by Gavin Baldwin and throughout all of this, he and the owners have been magnificent to the club and to the two football teams we have here.

“It’s really important that we look after our players. During these times, when everyone is being asked to stay at home, the big, big fear was for the families and whether they’d be able to work, so I tip my hat to our owners because our players have been looked after throughout these testing times.”

After a gruelling pre-season, the Dons played just two league matches before the season was postponed indefinitely due to the global pandemic.

“Our story during COVID-19 has been very similar to everyone else,” Carl added.

“We were all looking forward to the season, and we were looking to push for promotion this year – along with probably five, six, seven other clubs – and then it was all stopped after the hard work of pre-season. It’s tough for everyone.”

While Carl says he’s desperate to watch the game again whether that be in the stands or on the television, he admitted that getting back to elite sport might not be as easy as everyone might hope.

“We’ve got a big stadium so I think we could socially distance people in the stands but you still have to think about the cost of that," he continued.

"We don’t know how much it will cost to open the stadium when you factor in social distancing and PPE.  And then you’ve got testing, it’s huge money to be able to test everyone … no club will be able to afford that.

“Things are changing really quickly. What might be true on Monday morning, is sometimes no longer true on Monday afternoon and what’s best practice on Monday afternoon isn’t on Tuesday morning. We just need to be patient – we need to do what’s right and we’re all – the RFL, the Super League, all the teams – we’re all trying our very best to get to a situation which can hopefully please everybody.”

Carl added that the Dons fans have been fantastic during this period of uncertainty.

“True colours come out when things are tough and the supporters here have been great,” he added.

“Some have emailed me just to say how are you and that’s been really humbling.

“I also want to thank everyone who has joined Dons4Life and also the Club Doncaster lottery. Fans won’t realise how much this helps the club but it’s really important to us.”

Find out more about Dons4Life by clicking here and join the Club Doncaster Lottery by emailing ticketoffice@clubdoncaster.co.uk

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