Next week, there is also a planned meeting of the Premier League and the players' captains group to explain ideas for a return to training and then, in mid-June, for matches to begin. The Premier League will also explain its plan to the 20 managers, while there will be involvement from the Professional Footballers' Association and League Managers Association to reach a consensus.

These meetings are regarded as crucial for soccer's restart, with all parties agreeing that having players on board with plans must be thought through carefully. Clubs and medical experts believe the strict rules put in place at training for the three to four weeks before games resume will help to educate the players on how to behave.

Spitting, for example, will be banned and it appears certain that will be extended to matches. How the players will be prevented from doing so in games remains to be seen, especially with regards to sanction – whether it is simply a warning from a referee, or further punishment. This will have to be formalised by Mike Riley, the head of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited that oversees the referees and match officials, but has not yet been discussed.

The banning of spitting at training and not sharing water bottles was included in the seven-page document prepared by the Premier League, which sets out the health and social-distancing protocols as part of Project Restart. Players will be told there needs to be a cultural change at training and they will have to be far more disciplined in how they behave over hygiene and social distancing.

Medical experts, including Michel D'Hooghe, FIFA's medical committee chairman, have already called for a ban on spitting as part of the measures required to allow soccer to return.

There is a agreement from health professionals that banning spitting is a sensible measure. Players have been told there will be no pre-match handshakes and warned about not sharing kit, and this will extend to ensuring shirts are not swapped after games.

The Telegraph, London