Football should only return once vaccination is found, says Allardyce

Former Sunderland and Newcastle United boss Sam Allardyce believes that football should only return once a COVID-19 vaccine has been developed.

The experienced manager was speaking to Bein Sports about the current halt to the Premier League season, with all football currently suspended indefinitely.

And while some parties are pushing for the season to restart as soon as possible, Allardyce insists that football needs to take a back seat in the coming months.

“We’d all love for the season to finish, and nobody as much as me,” he said.

“But how can we even think about it?

“We’re lambasting everyone in this country for not doing enough social distancing.

“There are lockdowns far worse than this in other countries, so how can we think about going back and playing football?

“I can’t see us getting back to playing football until such time as we have a vaccination that clears up this virus.

“That makes life very difficult for everyone to say we want to finish every division and match in this country.”

Allardyce has also warned clubs that there could be long-term financial repercussions as and when football does resume – thanks in part to families cutting their cloth.

He feels that a reduction in paid subscriptions to watch the Premier League could affect the money that heads to top flight clubs, and ultimately that which filters down the pyramid to EFL sides too.

“The global devastation we’re suffering means that everybody’s income will probably reduce dramatically,” added Allardyce.

“We’re all feeling the benefit - or we have felt the benefit in the past - of subscribers paying to watch Premier League football throughout the world.

“But will that happen again?

“Will people have the money to say that we can pay that much this month to watch the Premier League? “I’m not so sure. “It may come back eventually, when the country turns around.

“But for the time being I think there’s going to be a shortage of finance.

“We may all have to adjust for a while before that comes back.”