June return target perks up EPL
THE path to the English Premier League resuming was eased yesterday by the government saying elite sports will be allowed to resume in England in June if there is no new spike in coronavirus infections.
While spectators will not be allowed into stadiums for some time, the British government embracing the return of professional sports stands in contrast to rulings by French and Dutch authorities who have banned any events until September.
The announcement from Boris Johnson’s administration came as EPL clubs held a conference call about the logistics involved in restarting the competition amid divisions over a plan to use neutral venues for all games.
When the league was halted two months ago, Liverpool was 25 points clear with nine games remaining.
Now the national lockdown that was imposed in March and led to the shut down of sports is starting to be lifted by British Prime Minister Johnson.
Step two of the government roadmap for easing the lockdown restrictions includes “permitting cultural and sporting events to take place behind closed doors for broadcast, while avoiding the risk of large-scale social contact.”
“To aid planning,” the document added, “the government’s current aim is that the second step will be made no earlier than Monday 1 June, subject to these conditions being satisfied . ... Organizations should prepare accordingly.”
The EPL and other sports organizers will now be waiting to hear when the government will allow the resumption of group training by athletes, even as social distancing regulations are maintained in wider society.
The challenge containing the coronavirus without a vaccine will mean sports will be staged without fans.
The government said permitting large crowds in stadiums again “may only be fully possible significantly later depending on the reduction in numbers of infections.”
A series of meetings by clubs are scheduled for this week, including with the government, which is expected to publish a paper on plans and guidelines for elite sport today.
No vote on the proposal for games to be held at neutral grounds is expected but consultations will go on throughout the coming days with players and managers as well as government officials and medical experts.
The EPL clubs have to give European governing body UEFA details of their plans by May 25.
The clubs may, however, take a decision over the issue of player contracts, which could be a complicating factor given some players, reported to be around 160, are due to run out of contract at the end of June.
FIFA has produced guidelines suggesting that contracts be extended until the end of the lengthened season but clubs are concerned about the legal situation if players refuse.
In Spain, Real Madrid players returned to work at the club’s training ground yesterday ahead of the planned resumption of La Liga next month.
After finding no positive cases from tests for coronavirus last week, Real players arrived at Valdebebas to train for the first time in two months.
Real was one of the first clubs to go into quarantine after a basketball player tested positive for coronavirus on March 12, the same day La Liga suspended all competitive fixtures.
But after almost nine weeks training at home, Zinedine Zidane’s players initiated the first phase of La Liga’s training program, that includes players working individually, with a maximum of six of them on a pitch at once.
“Divided into two rotations and on various pitches, Real Madrid footballers carried out their first individual exercises with and without the ball,” the club said in a statement, with several photographs of the players in action.
Eden Hazard was among those pictured running, the Belgian returning after undergoing surgery on his right foot in the United States on March 5.
Thibaut Courtois, Gareth Bale and Marcelo were also training alone while Zidane wore a mask as he gave out instructions.
Real preferred to wait until yesterday to begin training again, after other clubs like Barcelona, Sevilla and Villarreal resumed on Friday.
Barcelona is two points ahead of Real at the top of the table.
La Liga’s plan is for players to progress through a staggered schedule that will see them train alone, in small groups and then finally in larger team sessions.
The league’s president Javier Tebas told Movistar on Sunday night he hopes games might be able to restart behind closed doors on June 12.
Tebas said the remaining 11 rounds of La Liga matches would be played over 35 days, with fixtures on every day over that period.
(Agencies)