EPL suspended indefinitely

Players to be asked for wage cut, UEFA plan hopes to resume soccer around July, August

LONDON, April 4, (AP): The English Premier League was suspended indefinitely following a meeting of its 20 clubs, who discussed financial painkiller measures including asking players to take a substantial pay cut during the coronavirus outbreak.

Having previously given a tentative - and improbable -- return date of April 30, the world’s richest league said the season would not be resuming at the start of May and “will only return when it is safe and appropriate to do so,” and only with the full support of government and medical guidance.

Teams have nine or 10 games left to play in the Premier League, with Liverpool - the leader by 25 points - still needing two more wins to clinch its first title since 1990. The FA Cup is at the quarterfinal stage.

“There is a combined objective for all remaining domestic league and cup matches to be played,” the league said, “enabling us to maintain the integrity of each competition.”

The meeting, which was held by video conference, came at the end of a week when Premier League players came under growing pressure to forego some of their salaries to help protect the jobs of club staff. Tottenham and Newcastle are among those to have furloughed non-playing staff during soccer’s shutdown and, on

SOCCER

Chelsea’s Billy Gilmour controls the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Everton at Stamford Bridge Stadium in

London, March 8, 2020. (AP)

Tottenham’s Giovani Lo Celso, Erik Lamela, Harry Winks and Eric Dier, (from left), stand disappointed after they received the opening goal during the Champions League Round of 16, 2nd leg soccer match between RB Leipzig and Tottenham Hotspur in Leipzig, Germany, March 10, 2020. (AP)

formed to resume football around July and August, with domestic leagues told not to abandon competitions yet due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The aspiration was outlined in a letter, seen by The Associated Press, that was signed by UEFA, the European Club Association and European Leagues body and was being sent to their members.

The letter was issued hours after the Belgian league became the first major European competition to recommend ending its season with the current standings declared final.

“We are confident that football can restart in the months to come - with conditions that will be dictated by public authorities,” the letter from UEFA, the ECA and EL stated, “and believe that any decision of abandoning domestic competitions is, at this stage, premature and not justified.”

Competitions, including UEFA’s Champions League and Europa League, were put on hold last month as the COVID-19 outbreak spread across Europe. UEFA working groups have been working on plans to resume competitions.

“Their work is now focusing on scenarios encompassing the months of July and August, including the possibility that the UEFA competitions restart after the completion of domestic leagues,” read the letter sent to leagues, clubs and national associations. “A joint management of calendars is strictly required as the conclusion of the current season must be coordinated with the start of the new one, which may be partly impacted because of the overstretch.

“Closely following the development of the current situation, the calendar working group will indicate as soon as possible, and ideally by mid-May, which of the plans can be enacted for the completion of the season without leaving anyone behind. ”

Halting leagues could impact qualification from domestic leagues to the Champions and Europa Leagues.

“Since participation in UEFA club competitions is determined by the sporting result achieved at the end of a full domestic competition, a premature termination would cast doubts about the fulfillment of such condition,” the letter stated.

Until the COVID-19 outbreak, national team games scheduled in June included the 2020 European Championship, World Cup qualifying games in South America and Asia, and qualifiers for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

After Euro 2020 was postponed for one year, UEFA hoped to schedule playoff games in June to confirm the last four places in a 24-nation lineup. Those playoffs were postponed indefinitely this week.

World Cup qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar now face uncertain scheduling in a congested calendar in Europe, South America and Asia.

FIFA said on Friday it would “organize bilateral discussions” with continental governing bodies “to finalize a revised match schedule pending health and safety developments.”

FIFA plans to direct hundreds of millions of dollars from its cash reserves to support a global emergency fund, and has agreed to appoint one official from each of the six soccer continents to coordinate the work.

Meanwhile the under-construction Athletes Village for the Tokyo Olympics could be used as a temporary hospital for coronavirus patients.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has been talking about the possibility of occupying the massive development on Tokyo Bay, which is to house up to 11,000 Olympic and 4,400 Paralympic athletes and staff during the games.

The complex, which will eventually include 24 buildings, is expected to remain unoccupied with the Olympics delayed for 16 months.

Koike said the Athletes Village was “one of the options, but the village is not finished yet. We are talking about places that are available even today or tomorrow and checking a possibility one by one.”

As another alternative, Koike said on Friday that the Tokyo city government would buy a hotel to house patients.

Through Thursday, Japan had reported about 3,300 cases of coronavirus with 74 deaths, according to the health ministry. Tokyo reported 97 new cases on Thursday with officials looking for more beds in the capital as totals rise.

The coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people and can include a fever, coughing and mild pneumonia. The risk of death is greater for older adults and people with other health problems.

The 5,600 units in the Athletes Village will be renovated after the Olympics and sold. Almost 1,000 are now for sale, or have been sold. Occupancy was supposed to begin in 2023, and apartment prices are listed between $500,000 and $2 million.

The Athletes Village is a joint venture involving 10 major companies and the city of Tokyo. The complex will be known as Harumi Flag and the developers include Mitsui Fudosan Residential Co., Nomura Real Estate Development Co., and Sumitomo Realty & Development Co.

The group running Harumi Flag said the proposal to use the property for coronavirus beds was speculation and added the developers had not heard from the city.