Meanwhile, Premier League managers have been debating the merits of continuing the season as COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc with scheduling at all levels of the English game.

The outbreak threatens Villa's Premier League games next week but the team were still planning to contest their FA Cup match against Liverpool on Friday using only youth players.

In games, players have become more lax and the league wants them to minimise contact.

Clubs were told in a letter from the league that handshakes, hugging and shirt-swapping should stop, in an attempt to limit the risk of COVID-19 spreading - particularly with a more transmissible variant of the disease now circulating in England.

The government has allowed professional sports to continue despite England being placed into its latest lockdown this week and some players being involved in high-profile flouting of national rules over Christmas with parties.

"It is vital to ensure public, government and stakeholder confidence in the training and matchday protocols that individual transgressions by relevant persons are appropriately investigated and sanctioned by clubs," the league told clubs in a letter.

"Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action by the league individually against the relevant person, where appropriate (for example, where his or her conduct brings the league into disrepute) and/or against the club (where the relevant person's conduct constitutes a breach of the training protocol)."

The league might investigate the circumstances of outbreaks within teams to discover the cause and assess if action has to be taken.

Compliance officers from the league can go into training grounds and dressing rooms on matchdays to check coronavirus protocols are being followed.

Clubs have also been told to limit interactions between players and coaches away from matches and training, including only using canteens on the day before games or on matchdays.

Anyone coming into contact with players on transport used to get to games will also have to test negative in advance for COVID-19.

Managers also had their say on Friday with Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho insisting the situation facing his club was "impossible".

His Newcastle and Leeds counterparts Steve Bruce and Marcelo Bielsa also suggested there was a moral argument to suspend the competition.

Bruce, whose club were forced to postpone a Premier League match against Villa last month, said: "We have had two players who were very, very sick and one or two members of staff who were nearly hospitalised.

"It's not been easy but yes we'll keep going along - financially it's right but maybe morally it's wrong."

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard said: "We have to toe the line, we have to try to keep playing. Safety must come first."

Burnley manager Sean Dyche suggested players could be vaccinated and to plough the money saved on testing into the NHS.

The Clarets boss said: "I appreciate some people will be surprised by that comment and people will say: 'Why should footballers get vaccinations?'

"But the amount of money being spent on testing in the Premier League, if that was channelled back into the NHS and into the vaccination system, surely that's a better place to be than continually testing footballers."

Australian Associated Press