Coronavirus: EPL may stick to home, away

LONDON • The Premier League will explore the viability of playing the remainder of the season at home and away grounds, rather than neutral venues due to opposition to the proposal.

The English top flight, which has been on ice since March 13 because of the coronavirus pandemic, last month put forth a list of eight to 10 neutral venues as the layout of certain stadiums make it difficult to ensure safe distancing, even behind closed doors.

The idea was also meant to cut down on travelling, thus reducing the risk of contracting Covid-19 from outside parties.

However, relegation-threatened clubs like Brighton, Aston Villa and Watford have not been sold on the proposal, claiming it would affect the integrity of the competition.

With the Premier League unwilling to take the issue to a formal vote - at least 14 of the 20 clubs must agree - chief executive Richard Masters confirmed that the aim was to go back to the usual format, as long as they can get the green light from the powers that be.

Insisting that "a really strong collective will to complete the season remains", he said: "We talked about neutral venues - obviously, it is the preference of all our clubs to play at home if at all possible, but all must be cognisant of what authorities are telling us and we will continue with that conversation."

The Premier League yesterday began a two-day discussion with the clubs, players and managers on the progress of Project Restart, ahead of tomorrow's crunch meeting with Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden and other government officials.

Tottenham's Danny Rose and City's Raheem Sterling yesterday joined Manchester City's Sergio Aguero and Glenn Murray of Brighton in voicing their reservations about resuming the campaign amid the pandemic.

Sterling issued a video statement on his YouTube channel, saying he was "thinking what the worst outcome could be", while Rose was far more scathing.

"Government is saying 'bring football back' because it is going to boost the nation's morale. I don't (care) about the nation's morale, people's lives are at risk.

"Football shouldn't even be spoken about coming back until the numbers (infected or dying) have dropped massively."

However, one problem does appear closer to being taken care of after Masters said clubs have agreed to allow players whose contracts run out at the end of next month to extend their deals until the end of the season, whenever that may be.

Any restart to the campaign would see matches played beyond the June 30 date and around 80 Premier League players, including Tottenham's Jan Vertonghen and Willian of Chelsea, will be free agents this summer.

While Masters' announcement sheds clarity on the issue, which has legal implications, clubs and players still need to sit down and hammer out a temporary extension, and they are still technically free to leave by June 30 should an agreement not be reached.

One thing looks for certain is that the remaining 92 matches will have to be held behind closed doors if the season is to resume and it is a prospect that will cost the Premier League as much as £340 million (S$593.3 million), the BBC reported yesterday.

Broadcasters will have to be reimbursed for games not being played as scheduled, compounding the lack of match-day revenue, and the poor atmosphere in empty stadiums is also a concern.

Masters added: "Whatever happens, there's going to be significant loss of revenue for clubs. That is inevitable."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS