Bantams midfielder Cooke cannot see ban on celebrating goals

With the country in the middle of another lockdown, concerns have been raised about the images of players hugging each other after scoring.

Cooke admits footballers must appear “whiter than white” but he does not see an issue with regularly-tested team-mates celebrating together.

The City midfielder said: “It’s part and parcel of the game and would be wrong to try to stop it.

“Lee Novak scored probably the goal of the season against Grimsby. Imagine if he does that now when the protocols are in place and we can’t celebrate.

“It doesn’t sit right with me.

“You don’t think like that when you’re playing. You just go bonkers in the moment.

“You’re told to get tight with your man at corners and stuff but they don’t want you to celebrate together. It doesn’t make any sense.

“I can understand they are trying to limit the spread of the disease. We’ll have to see what happens but I can’t see it with goal celebrations.”

The EFL have introduced a rigorous testing schedule for the rest of the season with clubs checked twice-weekly.

Lee Novak scores with a stunning overhead kick against Grimsby (Image: Thomas Gadd)

Carlisle have become the latest League Two club forced to call off their next three games but City came back with the all-clear again.

Cooke added: “It’s great that the EFL have brought it in to keep the game going and a credit to the club.

“We’ve been put back into the protocols from pre-season where we have to keep mingling to a minimum.

“There are obviously areas where you can’t help it like at training but we’re not allowed to eat round that area.

“But the fact we are limiting mixing is reflected in the Covid testing when all the players and staff came back negative.

“We can only do what we’re told. It gives you peace of mind for your family as well if we keep on top of the testing.”

Football has faced further scrutiny following incidents of some high-profile players flouting lockdown laws. But Cooke believes they should not be tarred with the same brush.

“You can’t sugar-coat how they choose to live their lives,” he added.

“Footballers are all human and we all make mistakes but at the same time we understand that a lot of people look up to us.

“We can only worry about ourselves and, touch wood, not one of us at Bradford has tested positive.

“You’ve just got to be careful. When you’re in the spotlight, you’ve got to be whiter than white and abide by the rules.

“Obviously one or two individuals have broken the protocols but the majority are sticking to them.

Football is under pressure to tone down goal celebrations in the current climate

“But that’s the same with society as a whole. You’ve probably got 95 per cent of us sticking to the rules and that’s why we are trying to limit the number of infections.

“There’s obviously still a long way to go but we can only do what we can and hopefully we come through this sooner rather than later.

“We all know that mental health is a very big thing in society now, especially when you are stuck indoors.

“As footballers, we just want to try and give something back. If it means us continuing playing, then that’s absolutely fantastic.

“Everybody wants football to carry on. It’s the nation’s sport.

“We want it to continue and I don’t see why it can’t with all the testing and the protocols in place. Fingers crossed it keeps going.”

City will hope for better luck this week with the weather as they try to finally get back on the pitch for 2021.

Saturday's postponement was their third in January and means that by the time they travel to Cambridge next weekend, it will have been 25 days since their last game against Port Vale.