LONDON, United Kingdom, Apr 30 – Premier League clubs will meet on Friday to discuss whether it is realistic to complete the season during the coronavirus crisis or whether they will have to brace for a devastating financial hit.

The Dutch season has already been called off, Belgium looks set to go the same way and French clubs met Thursday to decide whether to declare their season over.

But with the English top-flight facing an eye-watering estimated loss of £1 billion ($1.25 billion) if no more football is played, there is a huge incentive to play the 92 remaining games if feasible.

The Premier League also appears to have the support of the government in Britain, which now has the third-highest death toll in the world from COVID-19.

Speaking in parliament last week, Oliver Dowden, Britain’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, said he had been in talks with league chiefs over getting football up and running again.

Liverpool fans will be the keenest for the season to restart, with Jurgen Klopp’s side on the brink of their first league title for 30 years when matches were suspended in March.

AFP Sport looks at the issues the Premier League is facing:

Testing

Testing has been a thorny political issue during the pandemic in Britain, with many frontline workers unable to access tests until recently.

Although capacity has been ramped up as the government raced to meet a target of 100,000 tests a day by the end of April, there is still unease at the prospect of young, healthy footballers being regularly tested when other members of society are not.

Players and officials could be tested up to twice a week, according to a Sky Sports report on Thursday.

“Are we sending the right message to society? Does it encourage a healthy return or does it maybe send a bad signal suggesting football has different rules than the rest of the world,” said Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, general secretary of players’ union FIFPro.

The Premier League can ill afford another PR disaster in the midst of the crisis after several stumbles so far.

Liverpool, Tottenham and Bournemouth have backtracked on their plans to use government money to prop up the wages of non-playing staff due to public pressure.

And the issue of whether players should take a pay cut has rumbled on.

Player welfare

Former England captain Wayne Rooney complained players had been treated like “guinea pigs” in the days before football was shut down.

The push to suspend the season only gathered pace when Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive, demonstrating that even those in a relatively protected bubble were at risk.

“We have reiterated that players are not just footballers but partners, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters who share the same health concerns as everyone else during this pandemic,” said Bobby Barnes, deputy chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association.

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville, who owns a stake in League Two side Salford City, went even further when he asked: “How many people have to die playing football in the Premier League before it becomes unpalatable?”

Neville is one of many who believe economic angst is overriding the necessity for players to return to a safe environment while Baer-Hoffmann said putting pressure on players to come back could add to their anxiety.

On top of the risk to their health, players would potentially face the mental toil of weeks away from their families, quarantined in hotels.

Where would games be played?

If matches are to return, it is most likely they will do so in a small number of venues across the country behind closed doors to minimise the number of ambulance, police, security and broadcast personnel needed.

However, there are fears that fans could still congregate near stadiums either during matches or to celebrate major triumphs.

Liverpool, 25 points ahead of reigning champions Manchester City at the top, are potentially two games away from wrapping up the title

“Even if it was behind closed doors, there’d be many thousands of people who would turn up outside Anfield,” Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson told the BBC.

“There’s not many people who would respect what we were saying and stay away from the ground. A lot of people would come to celebrate so I think it’s a non-starter.”

(Visited 9 times, 9 visits today)

%thecontent%%avatar%

%author%

%authornetworks%

%authordescription%

%authornetworks%

Comments

%sidebar%","opedarticle":"","sidead1":"ff","sidead2":"","sidead3":"","homestory":"

%title%

%game%%date%Read More--","taxonomyitem":"

%title%

%game%%date%Read More------","fixtureitem":"%name1%%score1%VS%score2%%name2%%time%","home":"rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn 1rn 2rn 3rn 4rn 5rn rn rn rn

FKF calls off leagues: What clubs are saying

rn rn Footballrn rn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn Read Articlern rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rnrnrnrn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

More Headlines

rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

rn French football season declared over, PSG awarded titlern

rn rn Footballrn rn rn rn 4 minutes ago rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

rn Kisumu mech stakes Sh3 on corners to reap Sh818,000rn

rn rn Footballrn rn rn rn 1 hour ago rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

rn Lausanne Diamond League organisers seek ‘other options’rn

rn rn Athleticsrn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

rn Former Man Utd star Cole starts kidney research fundrn

rn rn Footballrn rn rn rn 4 hours ago rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

rn Football’s return ‘good for everyone’ – Mourinhorn

rn rn Footballrn rn rn rn 4 hours ago rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

rn Pochettino ‘wants to manage Spurs’ againrn

rn rn Footballrn rn rn rn 5 hours ago rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rnrnrn rn rn

Most Popular

rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

All Sports

rn trn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

French football season declared over, PSG awarded title

rn rn rn Footballrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn rn

Kisumu mech stakes Sh3 on corners to reap Sh818,000

rn rn rn Footballrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn rn

Lausanne Diamond League organisers seek ‘other options’

rn rn rn Athleticsrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn rn

French rugby agrees to end Top 14 season

rn rn rn Footballrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn rn

Former Man Utd star Cole starts kidney research fund

rn rn rn Footballrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

Poll Question

rn rn ntnttnttntt

WILL ARSENAL FINISH TOP FOUR IN 2019/20 EPL SEASON?

ntt
• NO
ntt
• YES
ntt

View Results

ntnn Loading ...n rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

Football’s return ‘good for everyone’ – Mourinho

rn rn rn Footballrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn rn

Pochettino ‘wants to manage Spurs’ again

rn rn rn Footballrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn rn

I deserve to be at Barca, says ’emergency signing’ Braithwaite

rn rn rn Footballrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn rn

Lazio cling to Serie A dream as 105-year-old nightmare looms

rn rn rn Footballrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn rn

COVID-19 condemns Chinese football to endless pre-season

rn rn rn Footballrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn Load More Storiesrn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

Sponsored

rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

Featured

rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn AGENCE FRANCE PRESSErn French football season declared over, PSG awarded titlern rn rn Viewrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn Timothy Olobulurn FKF calls off leagues: What clubs are sayingrn rn rn Viewrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn AGENCE FRANCE PRESSErn Premier League wrestle with ‘Project Restart’rn rn rn Viewrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn Capital Sportrn Kisumu mech stakes Sh3 on corners to reap Sh818,000rn rn rn Viewrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn Timothy Olobulurn Folded fists for FKF, KPL over league endingrn rn rn Viewrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rnrnttt","sidebar":"rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rnrnrnrn rn rn rntrn rn t

Most Popular

rn rn rn rn rn trn rn rnrn rn rn rn t

Featured

rn rn trn rn rn rn rn AGENCE FRANCE PRESSErn French football season declared over, PSG awarded titlern rn rn Viewrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn Timothy Olobulurn FKF calls off leagues: What clubs are sayingrn rn rn Viewrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn AGENCE FRANCE PRESSErn Premier League wrestle with ‘Project Restart’rn rn rn Viewrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn Capital Sportrn Kisumu mech stakes Sh3 on corners to reap Sh818,000rn rn rn Viewrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn Timothy Olobulurn Folded fists for FKF, KPL over league endingrn rn rn Viewrn rn Thursday, 30th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn rn rn trn rn rn rn","articleerror":"

Oops...Something broke on our end

"},"messages":{"accessdenied":"Access to the account has been denied ","httperror":"Oops, something went wrong...please try again","contactgoogle":"Contacting Google","firsttime":"Seems this is your first time with this signin system. Please wait as we get your name","signinsuccess":"Cool. You're now signed in. This signin will close automatically now","pendingrequest":"Still communicating with the server","signedout":"Seems you were signed out. Try submitting again after you've been signed in","trackingerror":"Couldn't track Analytics","xhrnotconfigured":"To webmaster: Please confirm the xhr/ajax receptor is configured on the server","loadmore":"Load more stories"}}; /* ]]> */