Premier League clubs are reportedly still in deadlock over whether or not to finish the season in neutral venues but have decided to extend players' contracts that were due to expire on June 30.
Executives from all 20 Premier League clubs held their latest video conference on Monday to discuss a range of matters regarding the top-flight season.
Chief among them was Project Restart, and the plans for finishing the current 2019-20 campaign, but as of yet no final decision has been made on that.
A vote was initially scheduled for today's crunch meeting, but that was moved back and is expected to now take place on May 18.
According to The Sun though, the clubs could not come to an agreement on proposals to play out the remaining fixtures at neutral venues.
The plan remains to resume the campaign on June 12, with stars and essential staff being tested for coronavirus twice a week and games played behind closed doors at neutral venues.
Also high on the agenda at today's crunch meeting were player contracts, and a vote did take place on that.
The Premier League gave its 20 clubs three options regarding the contracts of players whose deals expire at the end of June.
The first is to offer the players a temporary contract on exactly the same financial terms as their current one to see them through to the end of the current season.
It would last until midnight on the day of the team’s final game of the campaign and must have no increase to a player's pay.
The second is to offer a contract beyond the end of the season to keep them at the club for the future.
The third is to inform the player that no new deal will be offered to them. In that situation players will be free to talk to other clubs from June 24 but will not be able to play for their old club or new club until this season is completed.
Some of the high-profile names these rules apply to are the likes of Jan Vertonghen, Willian, Adam Lallana and Olivier Giroud.
The meeting also enabled five substitutions to be made if and when Premier League football does return this season.
The rule change was passed by The International Football Association Board (IFAB) last week, and now Premier League chiefs have applied the law to their own competition upon the resumption of matches.
Clubs will now be able to make five changes to their starting XI - albeit only across three stoppages - in a bid to minimise the risk of injury to players.
There was concern that after a prolonged period without playing, stars were more susceptible to picking up injuries if they were forced to play a full 90-minute match.
Elsewhere, there has been plenty of confusion over the Premier League's plans, with pressure being applied on the English top flight to make a decision after France cancelled their season, while Germany press ahead with behind-closed-doors matches from next weekend.
A vote on neutral venues is likely to be held later in May and 14 of the 20 clubs must vote in favour for it to pass and be set in stone.
Going into Monday's meeting, it was understood six clubs - Aston Villa, Watford and Brighton the most vocal of them - were against playing games at neutral grounds and instead wanted to keep their home advantage.
There is a general consensus that the season will be finished one way or another when it is safe to do so, as England look to follow the likes of Germany rather than Holland and France, who have curtailed their own campaigns.
It is understood that it is unlikely relegation will be scrapped if football does return, despite initial anger from clubs in the lower echelons of the top-flight who were worried about preserving their status in the richest league in world football.
No football has been played since March 13, almost two months ago, with over 31,000 people now having died in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Boris Johnson addressed the nation on Sunday night, but no specific guidance was given regarding professional sport and when it would be safe to resume.
On Monday the government published a more detailed plan and it revealed top-level sport in England could restart behind closed doors from June 1 but spectators may not be able to attend venues until a vaccine is found.
Step two of the road map, which cannot begin any earlier than June 1, includes 'permitting cultural and sporting events to take place behind-closed-doors for broadcast, while avoiding the risk of large-scale social contact'.
This will only be possible though if sufficient progress is made in limiting the spread of the virus between now and then, but the document entitled 'Our Plan to Rebuild: The UK Government's Covid-19 Recovery Strategy' says that 'organisations should plan accordingly'.
The new guidelines mean Premier League football has the green light to resume on its proposed June 12 date, if the 20 clubs push through a vote in the coming weeks.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário