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The Football Association has told Premier League clubs that the 2019-20 season must be resolved by “sporting merit,” potentially dividing the bottom six clubs on how to end the season.
It means that issues like relegation, the top four and the title must be solved either by playing the remaining games, or a mathematical formula based on the games played, with a weighting of points per game in consideration.
Canceling the season remains completely off the table. The announcement marked the first time that the possibility of shortening the season was discussed at a Premier League meeting, but that is still only a contingency plan, as the primary goal is to complete the match list. However, the competition will return to the government on the possibility of using local stadiums, since most of the clubs have asked to push this issue to the limit. Naturally, everyone would prefer to play their games in the season restarted at home, but many accept that it is unlikely to be possible. It is a problem that naturally has exerted more on the clubs at the bottom, since it could
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The announcement came at the start of Monday’s crisp video conference and immediately removed some of the expected tension from the meeting. the Independent He has been told that the FA’s hand was forced by the amount of politicking about the “Project Restart” in recent weeks, and he felt the need to act.
The governing body board unanimously agreed on the decision.
The Premier League has been suspended indefinitely
It effectively means that it now interests the bottom three clubs: Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich City: to play the remaining matches, regardless of conditions, as they are more likely to be relegated if a mathematical formula is used. That is not the case for the previous ones, and it means that the last six could be divided.
That group of clubs had recently become unified in their opposition to playing on neutral grounds, despite the fact that that had been a non-negotiable government condition to play again. Some in-game figures suspected the last six were playing on time, especially since UEFA set a May 25 deadline to make decisions about how to complete the league.
The FA announcement has denied this and assured that there are now only two possibilities: playing the season or solving it in another way.
Such suspicions had meant that many were expecting a frantic video conference, but the decision removed much tension.
However, the tension could increase again depending on the mathematical formula used in case the season is reduced. The Premier League would consider a variety of different models, but one problem is that they have different results. If it were purely points per game, for example, Bournemouth would fall. If points per game were weighted, such as an extrapolation of home and away matches, West Ham United would fall. The latter could also see Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal change places.
In a video press conference after Monday’s meeting, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters wanted to point out that this remains the last resort.
“It was the first time we discussed reduction, obviously it is still our goal to finish the season, but it is important to discuss all options with our clubs. Obviously we reflected on [the prime minister’s] statement last night and the most comprehensive statement that came out right at the end of the meeting and what that means to us. “
Regarding neutral stadiums, a problem that has proven to be a potential obstacle to ‘Project Restart’ due to disagreement over it, Masters said the consultations would at least continue.
“Just to reiterate that, I think everyone would prefer to play at home and away from home if possible. And I think it is clear to see that some clubs feel stronger than others. It is an ongoing dialogue and we have obviously been talking since Covid -19 became a problem, we’ve been talking to the authorities about the conditions under which we could get the Premier League back up and taking all those tips on board. But it’s an ongoing dialogue. Not much I can say about that, apart from that we are in contact with the authorities and we listen to that advice at the same time that we represent the opinions of the club in those discussions.
“Those are future conversations that we might need to have. There was a desire to see all the different implications; adaptations, if you like, to the Premier League model as we know to play the season and then discuss which ones are the fairest way to go. is “.
Masters similarly revealed that there would be meetings with players and club staff this week to discuss security concerns. Many club employees so far have wondered why so many discussions had taken place without even consulting with those actually involved.
“No decisions will be made until after we’ve talked to players and managers and those meetings are scheduled for later this week,” Masters said.
