San Sebastian: The Spanish football club Real Sociedad on Sunday allowed its players to return to training on Tuesday amid the coronavirus pandemic. With this, Real Sociedad will become the first team in Spain to do so.
"Once the central government has made the decision that non-essential activities will be able to restart their work, the players of the first professional squad will have the option of continuing their individualised work in Zubieta starting on Tuesday of next week," the club said in a statement in Spanish.
"In no case this work in Zubieta will be group. Work is still compulsory, as until now. It will be each player who decides to do it at home or in Zubieta. In the event that it is carried out in Zubieta, it will be done following the protocols established for this purpose, which scrupulously respect the security measures agreed by the health authorities, so, among other measures, the players who decide to go to Zubieta will do so, individually and staggered," it added.
Interestingly, players will be allowed to train in reduced groups, with medical staff overseeing training.
Small groups of a maximum of two or three players are allowed to train together with a recommended COVID-19 test upon arrival to training.
For the past four weeks, the players of the first team have been at respective homes and complying with the individualised physical programme that has been given to them.
Also, Real Sociedad said on Saturday they were cutting players' wages by up to 20 percent in an attempt to stabilise the club's budget during the coronavirus crisis.
"An agreement has been reached with the first team for the reduction of their wages by 20% in case the league does not resume this season, and by 5% in case the season can start again," said a club statement.
"This decision, taken with all of the parties concerned, helps us avoid traumatic measures for the rest of our employees and helps to balance the club's economic objectives in the face of a drop in income suffered after the suspension of competition."
Real Sociedad also announced a 20% refund on season tickets for its supporters.
At the time of the La Liga suspension last month, Real Sociedad were in fourth place in the championship.
They had also qualified for the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao in Seville on a date still to be decided.
