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Premier League clubs will meet again on Monday to discuss plans to restart the 2019/20 season, but there seems little chance that football will resume soon.
The determination remains to complete the campaign, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared to have slowed the rapid return for professional sport on Sunday after revealing that the coronavirus transmission rate is still too high to significantly ease the blockade.
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Football has not been played in England since early March due to the coronavirus pandemic
Johnson noted that while the general population will be able to exercise outdoors more than once a day and play sports starting Wednesday, they should do so only with those in their own homes.
“We want to encourage more and even unlimited amounts of outdoor exercise,” Johnson said in his televised address Sunday night to the nation.
“You can sit in the sun at your local park, you can drive to other destinations, you can even play sports but only with members of your own home.”
The message would seem to rule out the possibility of soccer clubs returning to full training any time soon and does not improve prospects for ending the seasons halted by the public health crisis.
However, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden tweeted: “In tentative steps and in less risky outdoor settings, we can imminently allow some sporting activities like golf, basketball, tennis, fishing, solo / in homes. Orientation to follow “.
Soccer continues to grapple with the potential challenges of a return to action, with a third Brighton player and five LaLiga players testing positive for the virus.
Getty Images – Getty
Brighton, who turned his stadium into a coronavirus testing center, revealed Sunday that a third player had contracted the disease.
Brighton Chief Executive Paul Barber said the unidentified player will spend 14 days in isolation. Two other players, whose names have also not been released by the club, contracted the virus earlier in the pandemic.
It is understood that they have recovered since then, but it is unclear whether or not they have returned to training yet.
Players’ safety concerns aren’t the only obstacle facing the “project restart” when talks resume on Monday about plans to restart the Premier League.
Brighton has criticized the idea that play should be resumed in neutral locations, despite warning that it could be a decisive factor in the resumption of football.
Villa and Watford have joined Brighton to speak out against plans to play the remaining 92 games in neutral behind closed doors.
Villa Chief Executive Christian Purslow told talkSPORT last week: “We are a club that takes pride in our way of home; I think two thirds of our victories this season have come home.
“We have six games left at home, so I think any Villa fan will agree that giving up that lead is a massive decision for someone who runs Aston Villa.” And I certainly wouldn’t agree to that, unless the circumstances were right. “
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