Mark Catlin's testing fears which could put paid to season for Portsmouth, Sunderland, Ipswich, Hull City and rest of League One

The Blues chief executive believes there will be no appetite among League One clubs to move forward with the campaign, if they are made to carry out screening of their players and staff.

The EFL released a statement on Saturday night confirming their fixtures are carrying on as scheduled, after the government stated elite sport will continue.

Testing is not currently mandatory as part of that process, although there is no clarity over whether that will be the case moving forward.

It was the costs attached to such a regime which led to clubs voting to curtail the season in June.

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And Catlin believes forcing clubs to do so now would lead to a similar outcome.

He said: ‘We’ve been assured by the EFL that we’re carrying on, so that’s the one piece of certainty we have at the moment.

‘Beyond that, the supporters know as much as a I do at the moment.

‘There’s no mandatory requirement for testing - at the moment.

‘Obviously, that would be a big thing if it became mandatory, but at this moment in time we haven’t been alerted to the need for mandatory testing.

‘That, of course, was the line in the sand really which made clubs vote to curtail the season.

‘Hopefully that won’t be the case, but, as we’ve always said health and safety is our primary concern with the general public and our players.

‘It’s disappointing but this is what people are having to deal with in society.

‘We’re doing all we can to carry on as long as the scientists and government say it’s safe to do so.’

It was costing Pompey in region of £6,000 for a round of testing ahead of the play-offs with Oxford United in July, with two to three sets of tests per week.

Catlin can see why clubs are loathe to shoulder those payments with a massive hole in their budgets, as football is played behind closed doors.

With strict protocols in place around the club and at games, he feels the right precautions are being taken.

He added: ‘I think for clubs to keep pushing on with the season the testing has to be line with the rest of society, IE if you have symptoms then you get tested.

‘The problem last time was it became mandatory for anyone and everyone involved in matches, including the backroom staff.

‘It became so cost prohibitive that it became the tipping point for clubs to vote to end the season. Hopefully this time that won’t be the case.

‘It’s easy to work out that, without additional revenue coming in, why would clubs be looking to spend that amount of money?

‘In all other walks of life there’s no requirement for mandatory testing, so why should football be any different?

‘What we’re doing has been okay. The protocols are very stringent and we have separate bubbles again within the club, which we continue to adhere to.

‘Everyone is doing what they can, but, unfortunately, as has been the case through this pandemic, there’s things at play outside of our control.’

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