England’s footballers can now ‘make contact’

• Premier League takes another step towards restarting season that has 92 fixtures to go, with late June target date

English Premier League football clubs on Wednesday voted unanimously to return to contact training, including tackling, as the English top flight moved a step closer to a resumption after the shutdown caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

A statement after a meeting of all 20 clubs said: “Squads are now able to train as a group and engage in tackling while minimising any unnecessary close contact.”

Failure to resume the season could cost the league about £750m in lost revenue from broadcasters, according to British media estimates.

Clubs last week began the first phase of Project Restart after agreeing to a return to training in small groups under strict limitations and no contact.

The announcement that phase two can begin follows 1,744 tests on players and staff for the coronavirus that produced eight positives, including Watford defender Adrian Mariappa and Bournemouth goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

A third round of testing took place on Monday and Tuesday with the results not yet back. No matches have been played in the Premier League since March when the coronavirus pandemic shut down world sport.

However, Wednesday’s vote is a big step towards the league completing the 92 remaining fixtures. On Thursday, Premier League shareholders will discuss the business aspects of Project Restart including a possible broadcast rebate and what to do if the season is curtailed.

Some reports said clubs could lose out even if the league restarts should broadcasters demand a £330m rebate. Phase two allows up to 10 players to work together and would ease the time restrictions on training sessions. The third phase would be a move to a more typical form of training in the build-up to actual games.

The league had indicated June 12 as a potential start date but it now looks likely to be later in the month. Matches will be held without fans in attendance.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho is keen to get playing again after seeing football resume elsewhere.

“Honestly, since the moment

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Bundesliga started, the Portuguese league and Spanish league announced a date to start, I think it is the most difficult moment for us, because we want to play,” he told Sky Sports.

The break has given Spurs’ injured players, Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Moussa Sissoko, and Steven Bergwijn, time to recover and Mourinho said they should all be available when the season resumes.

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson said playing at an empty Anfield and winning the Premier League title with no fans present would be “pretty strange”. Liverpool were 25 points clear of Manchester City when the league was shut down, on the verge of being crowned English champions for the first time in 30 years.

“Of course it would feel different because if you win any trophy and receive it without any fans there, it would be pretty strange,” Henderson told the BBC.

“We still have work to do and we still need to perform at a high level right the way until the season finishes because we want to finish as strongly as we can,” he added. /Reuters, AFP