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The government has given the green light to the Premier League to restart the season from June 1.
Soccer in the UK has been closed indefinitely in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than 30,000 lives and impacted thousands more.
Premier League clubs have vowed to end the season in some way with plans for matches to be played behind closed doors in established neutral venues.
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However, the league has maintained that any move to regain play must be in line with government protocol, and these latest No. 10 guidelines are likely to be seen as a major step forward in the process.
Under the measures, established by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as part of his “road map” outside the running of the bulls, the sport will be allowed to be broadcast behind closed doors from the beginning of next month at the latest “while avoiding the risk of large scale of social contact. “
The announcement comes as part of step two of the five-step plan along with additional moves to allow more children to return to school, the reopening of some nonessential retail stores, and the use of more public transportation.
However, plans to restart the Premier League are not without problems.
It is understood that the use of neutral locations remains one of the key contentious issues with the last six also eager for the drop at the table to be removed in case the season cannot be completed.
Brighton, Aston Villa and Watford have been critical of the proposal saying that removing the home advantage will have a detrimental effect on the integrity of the league.
The issue of player safety remains paramount as Sergio Agüero of Manchester City and Antonio Rudiger of Chelsea are just two of several players who speak publicly about their concern to return to the field.
A third Brighton player tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday and is now self-insulating for 14 days and following similar incidents in Germany and Spain over the weekend.
The second step of the government’s plan will only be possible if sufficient progress is made to limit the spread of the virus between now and June 1, but the document released Monday afternoon says that “organizations should plan accordingly.”
It is less clear when followers will be able to return to places. The document talks about places like movie theaters and hairdressing salons reopening in step three, not before July 4, but states: “Some places that by design are crowded and where it may be difficult to enact distancing will still not be able to reopen from securely at this point, or it can be opened securely only in part. “
He also cautions that the opening of venues like sports stadiums “may only be fully possible significantly later depending on the reduction in the number of infections.”
Events involving international travel, such as the Champions League and the Europa League, could be affected by the government’s planned introduction of a 14-day forced quarantine period for arrivals in the UK, except for those in countries “in a short list of exemptions. “
The 20 Premier League clubs met via video conference on Monday to discuss their next move with a vote on the restart plans likely early next week.
