With Premier League clubs returning to training Tuesday in preparation to resume the 2019-20 season behind closed doors amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, current and former star players in the division have spoken out about the situation.
Former Liverpool and England right-back Glen Johnson, speaking to British newspaper the Daily Mail, has sensationally claimed that politicians in Westminster are unfairly demonising footballers, as Health Secretary Matt Hancock among others have called on them to take pay cuts to offset any potential financial damage to their clubs brought on by the pandemic, whilst also stating that the return of football could “boost the nation’s morale”.
Johnson was not the only notable footballer to voice his opinion on criticism directed at athletes and plans to resume play.
In an interview with the YouTube channel “Talk the Talk”, Watford striker Troy Deeney expressed his concern at the potential health risks posed by a return to training.
Deeney also suggested that the logic in Westminster’s decision to loosen the UK’s coronavirus lockdown is flawed.
Football in the UK has been suspended since March, due to the ongoing threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic, and Europe’s professional football associations have until the 25th of May to report to UEFA, the continent’s governing body, whether they intend to press on with their seasons.
The Netherlands, France, Belgium and now Scotland have already thrown in the towel and ended their campaigns prematurely, whilst England, Spain, Italy and Germany are pressing ahead with plans to resume play, which will most likely take place behind closed doors should it resume.
Premier League clubs are set to vote on whether a proposal to use neutral grounds to see out the season should go ahead, later this week, after the ballot was called off last week over fears that the proposal could be shot down.
If the suggestion is ruled out, then only a few options for concluding the campaign remain viable.
These include rendering the season “null and void”, calculating the final positions based on mathematical algorithms, or simply ending the league with the current standings in place.
All of these scenarios could prove problematic to clubs in both the upper and lower echelons of the Premier League, and legal challenges are likely to be mounted if teams are either denied honours or forcibly demoted, given the exceptional circumstances.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
