An increasing number of Premier League clubs are calling for the season to be canceled following the outbreak of coronavirus (covid-19).
At present, the Premier League has set a date of April 30th for when football will return across England. However, that date is seemingly becoming increasingly unrealistic every day.
The spread of the virus across the United Kingdom has not yet reached its peak according to many experts and with the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announcing he has contracted covid-19, uncertainty continues across the Kingdom.
Senior figures across the Premier League have claimed it is “morally wrong” to even contemplate restarting the season. This indicates a stark change of tone since all 20 Premier League clubs met last week and unanimously committed to finishing the current season.
One chairman claimed it is “embarrassing” to think about continuing football and said: “What we are doing is wrong”.
The next meeting for Premier League clubs is scheduled for April 3rd, and one club official stated:
“I’m hoping the situation changes by then but unfortunately, the world is changing and it’s changing for the worse every day.”
“It’s absolutely clear what is going to happen. It’s a worldwide pandemic. You just start (the Premier League season) again and there are very few losers. Liverpool, I know. But in the grand scheme of things, honestly, it really doesn’t matter. You’ve just got to start again.”
“This (COVID-19) is going to get worse here (in Britain), so it’s not about players returning to training. If we all stay at home and self-isolate for the next two, three months, we’re going to get through this quite simply. But even then, there’s going to be a period of slow reintegration into normality, otherwise, the virus will spike again. So, if we’re lucky, the new season will start in September.”
“If they want to say, ‘This season is over and it will be recommencing with the final nine games being played out in September’, fantastic. But if that’s not feasible. Just end this league with whatever consequences that has. End it and say the new league will start in September.”
“We look like petulant, ridiculous children now. I passionately believe what we’re doing is wrong. And I would like to think my colleagues now believe that as well, that the world has changed. It’s a scary place at the moment and we’ve got to treat it seriously.”
With Liverpool currently 25 points clear of second-placed Manchester City, it would be a bitter blow to deny them their first Premier League title.
However, the feeling that this season may never be completed is growing all of the time.
Source: The Athletic
