Clubs urged to back neutral venues
Season will be over if proposal rejected
LONDON: The English Premier League season could be cancelled if teams did not agree to play the remaining 92 fixtures in neutral venues amid the Covid19 pandemic, League Managers Association (LMA) chief executive Richard Bevan said yesterday.
Professional football has been suspended since mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 32,000 people in the United Kingdom, the highest death toll in Europe.
Discussions are continuing about resuming matches after clubs were told on a Premier League conference call earlier this month that only neutral venues approved from a health and safety point of view will be allowed.
Asked if the 2019/20 campaign would be cancelled if teams voted against playing in neutral venues, Bevan told the BBC: “Yes, I think that probably is correct.”
“The government, if they haven’t already, will be making it clear that home matches with densely populated stadia, really puts into question whether social distancing rules can be adhered to.”
Brighton & Hove Albion and Aston Villa are opposed to the idea of playing their remaining games at neutral venues and LMA chief Bevan said clubs needed to get on board with the proposal if the season was to go ahead.
Brighton chief Paul Barber had previously said playing in neutral venues would have a “material effect on the integrity of the competition.”
The neutral stadium proposal needs 14 out of the 20 clubs to vote in favour for it to be adopted.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to update the UK’s position on lockdown and the plan for easing measures on Sunday.
UCL FINAL IN AUGUST?
Turkey plans to host the Champions League final in August, the head of its football federation said yesterday, after it was postponed by the global coronavirus pandemic.
Two months ago European football’s governing body Uefa indefinitely postponed the final, which had been scheduled to be played in Istanbul in May.
Turkish Football Federation chairman Nihat Ozdemir also said Turkey’s domestic football league would resume from June 12 and aims to complete the season on July 26.
The schedule would involve seven weekend games and one weekday match. Teams will play their matches in their own cities and own stadiums, he said, adding that no consideration had been given to playing matches in a single city.
“God willing, we will complete our own leagues at the end of July. We will hand over our cups on the pitch and then we will cap the season off by hosting the Uefa Champions League final in August,” Ozdemir said.