The Premier League will host an emergency coronavirus
conference call on Thursday involving all 20 clubs to discuss how they can
complete the current campaign.
A decision was made last Friday that all professional
football in England would be suspended until April 3 at the earliest after Arsenal
head coach Mikel Arteta and Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi both tested
positive for Covid-19.
Seven Premier League clubs have players or staff who are suffering
from coronavirus-like symptoms and have gone into self-isolation, while others,
like Manchester United, have shut down training.
Read the latest updates: Coronavirus news live
The decision to suspend the Premier League season was a relatively easy one, particularly now the government has banned mass gatherings, but working out what to do next is rather more delicate and clubs will discuss long-term strategy on Thursday.
There have been suggestions that the season could be voided,
but that would create huge issues over final league standings including relegation,
promotion and European qualification – though there is thought to be little
resistance to Liverpool being crowned champions.
UEFA’s decision to postpone the European Championships until
next summer has created a degree of wiggle room for the Premier League, though
a statement called for domestic competitions to be completed by June 30 at the
latest.
The Premier League reportedly faces taking a massive hit from broadcasting contracts, upwards of £750million, if they fail to complete the season, with 92 matches still to be played – though the majority of clubs are keen to finish the season if possible.
It has been proposed that those remaining fixtures could take place behind closed doors at neutral venues in a radical plan that would see each and every match shown live on television.
In an effort to limit the chances of players and staff
catching coronavirus, two or three grounds would host the games, with some
stadiums playing host to more than one match per day and teams asked to play every
three days – similar to the Christmas fixture period.
All these potential scenarios will be discussed on Thursday’s call, though no decision is expected to be made at this first meeting with talks likely to extend into next week, while the coronavirus pandemic could yet make playing matches impossible for the foreseeable future.
MORE: Mikel Arteta ‘doing better’ after positive coronavirus results
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