Green light to Premier League
THE Premier League has been given government approval to press ahead with its June 17 restart although players will have to stay apart during goal celebrations and disputes.
Further details of the league’s plans for dealing with coronavirus cases have been disclosed with clubs likely to have to play even if they have only 15 fit squad members.
In a further boost to the league’s restart plans, there were no positives in the fourth round of twice-weekly testing.
Tests were conducted on 1130 players and club personnel on Thursday and Friday as contact training resumed.
Announcing the go-ahead on Saturday, the government said that where possible social distancing must be maintained at games including “during any disputes between players and referees, or scoring celebrations”.
But there is a recognition players will not always be able to stay two metres apart while playing.
“There is still much work to be done to ensure the safety of everyone involved,” Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said.
But the police still want Liverpool’s key games — before it almost certainly clinches the trophy — to be played away from the city and in neutral stadiums. Liverpool is two wins from ending its 30-year title drought, 25 points clear with nine games to go.
“We need to ensure people don’t congregate around stadiums,” Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said.
Clubs agreed on Thursday to restart on June 17 but West Ham vice-chair Karren Brady said there was a long discussion about “what constitutes having a team fit enough to compete in the games left to play”.
Having only four substitutes was deemed sufficient.
“There are obvious and genuine concerns about what happens to your match results if your club has a number of players testing positive for coronavirus, or is in self-isolation, and as a result you simply cannot field your usual or strongest starting XI,” Brady wrote in a column in The Sun.
“Well, as long as you have 15 fit players (including one goalkeeper) made up from either your 25-man squad list or from your under-21s you will be deemed to have a team fit enough to fulfil the fixture.”
Clubs will discuss on Thursday what to do if teams don’t have 15 fit players or if the season is again curtailed.
“The Premier League are recommending a points-pergame formula to decide the award of places,” Brady said. “This is a straightforward model whereby a team’s number of points is simply divided by the number of matches they have played.”