West Ham United and Italy defender Angelo Ogbonna warns the Premier League and English authorities “still don’t realise the danger of Coronavirus. It’s as if they were waiting for someone to die before taking action.”

There have been numerous cases of Coronavirus in the Premier League, including Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, before they decided to halt football.

Until then, the Government was still urging them to play games with crowds, something Ogbonna found astonishing.

“I am happy and relieved that everything has now been suspended, including the minor leagues. It was almost as if they wanted to ignore such a serious problem,” Ogbonna told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

“It’s not just football, but this problem is ingrained in the English mentality. They still don’t realise the danger of a virus that can be passed on in seconds if you don’t behave in the right way.

“It’s completely unacceptable that the Arsenal game against us was allowed to go ahead. They had just played against Olympiacos, whose President tested positive for Coronavirus.

“It’s almost as if they were waiting for someone to die before taking action.”

Ogbonna warns the situation is still not being dealt with properly in the UK and that could lead to further spread of the virus.

“I haven’t been tested or checked over in any way. That is another testament to an attitude that is at the very least superficial.”