As Premier League aims a mid-June restart, hurdles outnumber hopes

On Friday, when the Dutch Football Association voided its season, there was speculation that it might set the template for other European leagues to follow. Close on its heels, however, news came from England that the Premier League is considering a mid-June return. Maybe, the Premier League has a little too much money riding on it to make its 2019-20 season null and void, notwithstanding a coronavirus death toll in excess of 20,000 in the UK.

According to reports, Premier League clubs discussed season resumption on the June 13-14 weekend after UEFA wrote to all football associations in Europe to finish their respective domestic seasons by July 31. The governing body of European football reportedly wants to keep August free for its own competitions — Champions League and Europa League. Of course, the matches will have to be played behind closed doors and likely at a few select venues. But is a mid-June restart realistically possible?

NHS nod needed

A report in The Guardian says, “While any resumption is being modelled on matches occurring behind closed doors, guiding the decision-making is the overriding principle that the National Health Service’s ability to treat those with Covid-19 should not be compromised and that it has to be at ease with the top flight restarting.”

A safe return of English top-flight football largely depends on NHS’s testing capacity. Mass testing of players, coaching staff, officials, security personnel, and reporters has to be made mandatory for every match. And in that case, the NHS, already overloaded with Covid-19 patients, probably will have to set up a separate unit only for football. UK’s 4 million NHS staff has been working overtime. So the bottom line is that the Premier League’s return, to a great extent, hinges on the NHS’s go-ahead.

Boris is game

According to reports, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been briefed about the plans on restarting the Premier League, with matches taking place behind closed doors. The Sun claims that Johnson sees the resumption of live sport as a morale-booster for the nation. The UK is in the middle of an extended lockdown and the government will review it on May 7. But before that, proposals have been laid out for resumption of other sports as well. The Times has reported that a cross-sport group is working with the government with an eye on a return to action.

The Covid-19 situation is evolving and much will depend on how things pan out in the next couple of weeks. If the government clears the resumption of the Premier League, clubs will need at least two weeks of training to make their players match-ready. Arsenal are expected to return to training next week, but group training will not be permitted.
A club spokesperson said: “Players will be permitted access to our London Colney training grounds next week. Access will be limited, carefully managed and social distancing will be maintained at all times. All Colney buildings remain closed. Players will travel alone, do their individual workout, and return home.”

Different dynamics

A view of a locked-up Etihad Stadium. (Source: AP Photo)

Going back to the Dutch Football Association’s decision to void the season, it came in the wake of the Dutch Prime Minister’s decision to ban all sporting events until September due to the pandemic. Ajax missed out on the league title, while RKC Waalwijk avoided the drop because there was no promotion or relegation. European qualification was decided on the existing table. Earlier this month, the Belgian Pro League cancelled the rest of its season, declaring Club Brugge champions.

The Premier League, however, has a different dynamic. If the season is voided, clubs collectively will suffer a revenue loss of £1.2billion. Also, the broadcasters pay the Premier League a shade over £3billion per season for the ongoing 2019-2022 cycle. If the season is made null and void, the Premier League might have to pay back broadcasters £762 million.

The ‘red axis’

Some Premier League club, West Ham United, for example, are in favour of voiding the season. The ‘Big Six’, though — Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Tottenham Hotspur — want to finish the season. To be precise, however, it’s the ‘red axis’ — United, Liverpool and Arsenal — that exercises enormous clout in the running of English football.

United and Liverpool are bitter rivals on the pitch. Their fans fight on the streets and terraces. The equation, however, is a bit different in the boardroom. With nine games remaining, Liverpool are just two wins away from securing the title and the general perception, that the United hierarchy will try to put up roadblocks, is misplaced.

United, Liverpool, and Arsenal — the English football royalty — look after each others’ interests (administratively) and keep the nouveau riche like City out of the cozy club. Not many moons ago, City chief executive Ferran Soriano learnt it the hard way, when the ‘red axis’ allegedly exercised its influence to deny him a place on the European high table. More recently, City reportedly discovered that Liverpool had been part of a group of clubs working behind the scenes to try and prevent a stay on the Manchester side’s two-year European competition ban. Arsenal, too, were allegedly part of the group. That the Premier League’s ‘red axis’ wants to finish the season is a reason why the authorities are walking the extra mile to restart football.

EFL appears iffy

Contrary to the Premier League, the English Football League (EFL) doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to resume the Championship, League One and League Two, as it sticks to its safety-first approach. An EFL statement read: “Clearly, before any return to football can take place, suitable testing arrangements for participants must be in place and this is core to our current planning, as is ensuring there is absolutely no negative impact on the country’s frontline workers, the emergency services, league, and club staff members.”