Amidst all the positive talks of the 2019-20 Premier League season being completed FA Chairman Greg Clarke has now dropped a truth bomb which could cause serious problems to everyone.
Just when there were reports that the Premier League were preparing to finish the rest of the season behind closed doors some time in June, Greg Clarke has now come out to hint that nothing is more important than human lives and that finishing the season could be a real possibility since right now, football is not a priority.
Clarke said in a statement: “We live in uncertain times and our priority is to support the Government’s public health initiatives. The wellbeing of all of us, and especially our most vulnerable members, must be our focus and the Government’s instructions regarding social distancing are our route to safety.
“Returning to the issue of uncertainty, no one knows how long the lockdown will last and what social distancing measures will endure even when the daily rate of infection is much reduced. Our Government is rightly cautious as human life is at stake and prudence is our only sensible option.
“We are committed to finishing the professional football season as this resolves the issues of promotion and relegation together with title winners on merit.
“However, we may not be able to finish the season as football is not our priority, human life is, and we will do as the Government directs as the pandemic unfolds.
“Everyone should understand that the Premier League clubs are not immune from the impact of this and whilst they are impacted to different degrees depending on their cost base, the potential overall financial impact is huge.
“We must have a plan to ensure that English football is not decimated should this season be lost and next season blighted.
“We hope we do not need this plan as we are all determined to finish the professional football season, however, we would be fools not to develop such a contingency plan. Those that lost their clubs because English football did not rise to the challenge would rightly judge us harshly.”
This will be a real setback for not only Liverpool but also a number of other clubs since just last week, UEFA had made it clear that if a league decided to conclude without playing their remaining games then their’s every chance that teams from that particular league might not be playing in Europe next season.
UEFA have been really helpful so far but this statement from the FA chairman is a clear statement that the Premier League along with the other competitions will only resume once everything has gone back to normal.
