Ex-Liverpool striker Stan Collymore: Football clubs should ban players from drinking alcohol

Detailing reasons why footballers should be banned from consuming alcohol, former Liverpool forward Stan Collymore wrote for the Mirror: “As crazy as this will sound to ­non-sports people, I’d actually like to see football clubs outlawing the ­consumption of alcohol by players altogether.

“The science is clear – alcohol ­seriously decreases athletic ­performance, which is why Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and James Milner steer clear. Doing so hasn’t done those three any harm, has it?

“Look, I get that in football, where the close season is short, the ­temptation to get hammered is strong even for those who drink almost ­nothing during the season.

“And it’s not easy for such as Jack Grealish, Phil Foden or any number of young British players because ­having a ­skinful and letting your hair down is very much a part of our culture.

“But perhaps if football ­implemented a no-drinking rule it might just have a positive effect on our wider society. And if lorry drivers and machine operators are tested regularly for the levels of alcohol in their systems, why not do it with our footballers?

“The sport has unwritten rules about not riding motorbikes or participating in extreme sports, so why not throw drinking into the mix as well?”

Collymore has been critical of Man City midfielder Jack Grealish’s antics on holiday, with the Englishman being spotted partying hard and drinking a lot of alcohol with his friends.

Football clubs don’t have any strict rules to bar their players from drinking alcohol, but can punish them if they find their players struggling because of alcohol abuse.

Source: Mirror