KOP SEALS LEAGUE IN EXTRA TIME

FROM BACK PAGE was led by the league’s interim chair Claudia Arney and were in unanimous agreement they must finish this season.

They have postponed all football in England until at least April 30 after joint agreement with the EFL and backing from the FA who have also agreed to indefinitely push back the traditional June 1 end-ofseason date.

That has given the Premier League and EFL licence to finish their games whenever they can – and that is driven by lucrative multi-billion pound TV contracts which they cannot afford to put in jeopardy.

While April 30 would still seem ambitious to start football again because the virus is not supposed to peak for weeks yet, there is a belief games could start again on the weekend of May 2/3. They would almost certainly have to be behind closed doors. It is understood there was a general acceptance on the conference call games will start again with no fans to reduce the risk.

The rationale behind calling football off until April 30 is to encourage clubs to give players a rest and keep them away from training grounds where they could pick up the virus.

It is understood July 12 – when the Euros final was going to be played – was also mentioned as a potential key date where the season could finish.

There will be a lengthy delay but it means that Liverpool (captain Jordan Henderson, above) will be crowned champions, while promotion and relegation will be decided along with the Champions League places.