Greg Clarke, the chairman of the English Football Association (FA), admits that it’s “hard” to see crowds of fans returning to matches “any time soon”.
The coronavirus pandemic has seen football suspended across the UK and Europe and it’s uncertain if the 2019-20 season will be now completed.
Governing bodies and organisations, including the Premier League, are busy working on scenarios to try and finish the campaigns with possible options including matches behind closed doors and games played at neutral venues.
However, in a letter to the FA Council Clarke explained that any potential restart for the Premier League and English Football League would need to be assessed by the government and health authorities.
Clarke said: “It is no secret that domestically, a huge amount of work is taking place to assess whether a restart to the English season will be possible.
“Whilst we would all like to see football return in the coming weeks, the health of our communities and the protection of the NHS must remain our priority and we will continue to be led by government advice as we work together with stakeholders from across the game to assess any potential restart.
“Our executive team has been building out different scenarios that we might potentially face as a result of the pandemic. The reality is that we just don’t know how things are going to pan out, but with social distancing in place for some time to come we do face substantial changes to the whole football ecosystem.
“For example it’s hard to foresee crowds of fans – who are the lifeblood of the game – returning to matches any time soon.”
There have been claims that the Premier League could restart in mid-June, but the Daily Mirror reports that player welfare has become a major issue.
The Mirror says EPL clubs will talk to players to “gauge opinions about whether they are prepared to carry on under the current Project Restart proposals”. Players could hold the key to any decision and they may end up vetoing plans to resume the season.
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