Premier League restart considered for July but Government deny secret meeting deal - 7M sport

Premier League restart considered for July but Government deny secret meeting deal



Posted Sunday, March 29, 2020 by Express.co.uk

Premier League restart considered for July but Government deny secret meeting deal
The Premier League season will restart in July (Image: GETTY)

The Premier League has been suspended since March 9 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Premier League is reportedly set to restart in July with matches to be played behind closed doors unless the coronavirus situation in the UK worsens. After news of Mikel Arteta and Callum Hudson-Odoi testing positive for coronavirus broke, the Premier League took the decision to suspend all matches.

A date had originally been set for games to potentially return after April 3 but that was soon moved back to April 30.

But growing concerns over the spread of COVID-19 has led to suggestions that date will come too early to be able to start playing matches again.

That has led to concerns over how the current season would be finished, with the cut off point for players out of contract being June 30.

There have also been some calling for the season to be scrapped altogether, making it null and void and preventing Liverpool from winning the league as well as stopping the likes of Leeds and West Brom from earning promotion to the top flight.

But the Premier League recently announced they had extended the season indefinitely, with the intention of completing the current campaign.

And Football London claim an agreement has been reached between the governing bodies and the Government to complete the season in July.

Express Sport contacted the Department for Culture, Media and Sport who claim no such meeting took place though.

A statement read: "DCMS officials did not speak to the FA, Premier League and English Football League today

"It is for the football authorities to agree on how the season should finish.

"As part of the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are in regular contact with the sector's governing bodies."

Football resuming all depends on the coronavirus situation in the UK and whether or not it worsens in the coming months.

It's not yet clear on what that means for cup competitions such as the latter rounds of the FA Cup.

But completing the season in July would hypothetically lead directly into the start of the 2020/21 campaign.

The Premier League season traditionally starts at the beginning of August, but it has been suggested that could be moved back.

Taking the season beyond June 30 though presents some problems for teams with players out of contract this summer.

There are currently a total of 66 Premier League players with contracts set to expire in a few months.

Some of those players would have already been in talks about signing elsewhere while clubs like Chelsea have already agreed terms with Hakim Ziyech to sign on July 1.

There is set to be another Premier League meeting next week on Friday, where it is claimed a potential restart date for the season will be a central topic of discussion.



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