Odion Ighalo celebrates
The UK government has given the Premier League the green light to resume behind closed doors from June 1 but details of the format will emerge Monday at a meeting of Premier Leagues chiefs on how to proceed with the league.
Premier club chiefs are now facing a crippling potential loss of up to £1.5 billion in gate-takings, TV rights and others.
Cultural and sporting events will be allowed to take place without fans to avoid the risk of large-scale social contact but they will be broadcast.
Although the decision on whether to resume the campaign on June 12 will not be subject to a formal vote today.
Clubs remain split over the details of ‘Project Restart’ but those in favour of a swift return will have been buoyed by today’s Government guidelines.
Despite the increased likelihood of televised football, match-going fans could wait more than a year before being allowed back in to stadiums to watch their team.
PM Boris Johnson and his Government believe it is unlikely to be safe to stage events with crowds until a Covid-19 vaccine is found.
They will not even consider it until September at the earliest — and that could be extended even further if no cure or preventative measure is discovered.
This will be crushing news for football clubs who will have to prepare for at least half of next season behind closed doors.
And it will mean certain closure for some teams who will be unable to continue.
Professor Chris Whitty, the Government’s Chief Medical Officer, warned on April 22 that chances of having a vaccine within a calendar year were “incredibly small”.
However, the return of football to our TV screens will provide a huge financial boost to Premier League clubs who were set to lose a significant percentage of the £760million they have already been paid by broadcasters for the final quarter of this season.
But cash-strapped firms including Sky and BT warned the next TV deal will suffer as a result of coronvarius and Prem club chiefs are now facing a crippling loss of up to £1.5 billion.
Additional reports by UK Sun
