LONDON. — English Premier League football clubs have devised a radical plan to save the 2019/20 season amid the coronavirus outbreak — and propose to play every remaining fixture behind closed doors.

Euro 2020 was pushed back a year on Tuesday by Uefa in a desperate bid to allow nations to complete their domestic leagues but English Premier League chiefs are fearful they will be unable to fulfil their fixtures.

A master-plan has, therefore, been developed to play the 92 remaining matches behind closed doors, with every game taking place at neutral venues at a separate time and all live on television, according to The Sun.

The proposal would see two or three grounds host the games, with some stadiums potentially holding more than one game a day and teams playing every three days in a race to finish the season.

It’s likely the grounds chosen will be in the Midlands and the rationale behind the limited number of stadiums used is that it would keep numbers of medical and security staff to a minimum. English Premier League bosses are aware of the need to complete the season to keep Sky and other TV companies happy, with the broadcast deals funding a large proportion of the competition.

Four teams — Manchester City, Arsenal, Sheffield United and relegation-threatened Aston Villa — have 10 games remaining, while the rest of the teams have nine fixtures to complete. Uefa chief Aleksander Ceferin outlined his plans for nations to complete their fixtures, denying the European governing body would push for the season to end immediately.

“We all know this terrible virus that is all across Europe has made football and all life in Europe quite impossible,” said Ceferin. “We knew we had to stop the competitions.

“I’ve also heard again fake news Uefa will advise leagues to finish the championships now and decide that the winners are the ones who are number one. I can say that it’s not true. Our goal is to finish the leagues.” — Metro.

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey