EPL returns for busy finish to season
MANCHESTER, England — English soccer’s longest suspension since World War II came to an end Wednesday, bringing some relief to a nation deprived of its most popular sport during one of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks.
The Premier League, the richest soccer league in the world with massive worldwide viewership, was suspended on March 13 after Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta tested positive. The virus had been rapidly spreading from Italy and Spain to the rest of Europe but it took soccer authorities to halt play, a move that has been credited with saving lives by keeping hundreds of thousands of fans from being infected in, or around, stadiums.
The first match played after 100 days was between Birmingham club Aston Villa and Sheffield United, which kicked off inside a virtually empty Villa Park stadium after a minute’s silence to honor those who have died in the pandemic. Fans are not allowed to attend the matches.
The game began with every player taking a knee in a tribute to George Floyd, who was killed by a policeman in Minneapolis last month. All the players also had had their names on their shirts replaced with “Black Lives Matter.”
The resumption comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government faces criticism for not ordering a nationwide lockdown until March 23 and for easing restrictions in England too soon given stillhigh levels of new cases and deaths. The U.K. as a whole has recorded more than 42,000 coronavirus-related deaths.
“I thought about the night I started to have some symptoms, how serious that was,” Arteta said in a pre-match virtual news conference. “It had to be reported because I could put at risk a lot of people.”
After months of planning, the Premier League is back — even though the matches will take place in empty stadiums, just like Germany’s Bundesliga, which returned last month.
“All but five countries will be airing tonight’s games, underlining football’s global reach and the soft power of U.K. sport,” Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said at the government’s daily briefing an hour before the games.
“There’s no doubt that this is a hugely symbolic moment, an important step forward in our careful journey back towards normality,” he added.
League leader Liverpool, which holds a massive 25-point lead over Man City and is close to winning its first league title in 30 years, will play its first match Sunday at city rival Everton.
“Obviously it is going to be an odd experience without fans,” said Premier League chief executive Richard Masters. “The Premier League won’t be back with a capital ‘B’ until fans are back.”