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The 20 Premier League clubs are “united to complete the season,” according to CEO Richard Masters.
After today’s league meeting, Masters said “a really strong collective will remains to complete the season” and that a new meeting with players and coaches will be held later this week.
Masters said: “At today’s meeting, it was reiterated that the Premier League and clubs absolutely recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic puts football in context. Many lives have been lost and many others have been profoundly affected.”
“We are proud of the response to the pandemic that the Premier League, our clubs and our players have provided vital support to the communities and the NHS and we hope that they will continue to do so after the restart of games.”
“There was a strong desire to discuss everything in the round and agree on a collective path forward. There remains a really strong collective will to complete the season.”
He said that as part of initial plans for clubs to return to training, a company had been designated to conduct tests on the training grounds.
“Our priority will always be the safety of players, coaches and managers, staff, supporters and the community at large,” he said.
“Nothing will be agreed until we have talked to the managers and the players.”
He confirmed that all clubs were against the possibility of using neutral locations in any restart plan.
“Obviously, it is the preference of all our clubs to play at home if possible,” Masters said. “It is an ongoing dialogue and we have been talking to the authorities about the conditions under which we could restart the Premier League and we are taking all those tips into account.”
Today, the government signaled the possibility of a return to live sports beginning June 1, and Masters said the league will follow advice from the government and other agencies while continuing to plan for the return of the competition.
“We welcome these first steps and we are ready to play our part,” he said. “We are working directly with clubs and stakeholders – the government, our broadcast partners, the FA, the EFL, the PFA and the LMA, to create a responsible, safe and deliverable model to complete the season.
“Of course, safety comes first. We must listen to the government, authorities and medical experts and follow their advice.
“That is exactly what we are doing. We are putting ourselves in the best position to resume the season, but only when conditions are right.”
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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