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The Premier League faces a week of chaos after Prime Minister Boris Johnson dashed hopes of a British government leadership on the Restart Project.
A week ago, green light expectations had been high after positive noises from high-level politicians about the return of the sport. But as the league convenes another extraordinary meeting of its 20 clubs on Monday morning, they are no closer to receiving official authorization to resume play.
Addressing the nation on Sunday night, Johnson made no mention of professional sports or its revival. This despite comments from Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden two weeks ago that the Premier League should return “as soon as possible.” The league has always insisted that it would be led by the government on any resumption, but that guide on the return of professional sports, from a task force led by UK sporting executive director Sally Munday, is still being written. .
A virtual meeting with the clubs was scheduled for last Friday, a day after the British government reviewed the closure restrictions. When the prime minister confirmed an address for Sunday night, the Premier League agreed to meet on Sunday.
The meeting will take place without a new information bar, a general instruction from the prime minister that people should “work from home if they can.” . . but you should go to work if you can’t work from home. “The only mention of the word sport came with reference to playing outside with” members of their own home. “
Dowden later tweeted, “In less risky outdoor settings, we can imminently allow some sporting activity like golf, basketball, tennis, solo / home fishing,” adding “guidance to follow.”
The meeting will bring together increasingly disagreeing clubs on several key issues. The first concern remains the safety of the players, staff, and all those associated with plans to play the remaining 92 games of the 2019-20 season.
The league’s medical protocol remains unfinished, but a draft is expected to be presented to the clubs before further discussions are held with the Association of League Managers and the Association of Professional Footballers later in the day.
If medical protocol is agreed, it will likely be voted on later in the week, and the schedule currently assigned to Project Restart will require a return to group training by May 18.
However, it is not the only problem that is expected to spark fierce debate, as player contracts and the use of neutral locations to resolve the season will also be the protagonists of what is expected to be a long meeting. – Guardian
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