Little did we know at the time but Leicester City’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa in the Premier League on Monday the 9th of March is going to be the last game played at least until the 4th of April. The decision was made to postpone the games between these two dates due to the spread of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom.
Despite the government telling people mass gatherings were fine to take place in a news conference on Thursday night, the Premier League decided to take things into their own hands as a manager and players tested positive for the virus.
It is believed the fact that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta tested positive for the virus was the main factor in the decision taken by the Premier League to postpone 2 weeks’ worth of fixtures.
The Premier League, FA, EFL and WSL have collectively agreed to postpone the professional game in EnglandFull statement: https://t.co/XcDyzBp4Ol pic.twitter.com/cmYjoY3LRR— Premier League (@premierleague) March 13, 2020
The Premier League, FA, EFL and WSL have collectively agreed to postpone the professional game in EnglandFull statement: https://t.co/XcDyzBp4Ol pic.twitter.com/cmYjoY3LRR
If the Premier League can resume on the 4th of April then there should be no problem in completing the season. This includes the FA Cup but it remains to be seen what UEFA are going to do regarding the Champions League and Europa League but that is out of the hands of the FA and Premier League officials.
However, despite a date being set for the resumption of the Premier League it is quickly becoming apparent that the League is not going to resume on the 4th of April. In fact, we could be set for a long break in the season without any specific date in mind for it to continue as things stand. If it becomes impossible for the Premier League season to finish by the 17th of May then a difficult decision must be made as what to do with the 2019/20 season.
Many options have been discussed over the past few days on television, websites and social media but the overriding factor must surely be fairness. That means fairness for every club, not only in the Premier League but those in the Championship, League One, League Two and the teams remaining in the FA Cup. Therefore, it is not possible to award teams trophies or promotion based on their current standing in the league tables.
You cannot give Liverpool the title, relegate teams in the relegation zone and promote teams based on their current league position. That is not fair and therefore it leaves us with two options.
#LFC's first-team squad, @LFCFoundation, @Red_Neighbours and club staff will come together to back @SFoodbanks during the suspension of @premierleague football. #UnityIsStrength ✊ https://t.co/EhgFSjUUAc— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 14, 2020
#LFC's first-team squad, @LFCFoundation, @Red_Neighbours and club staff will come together to back @SFoodbanks during the suspension of @premierleague football. #UnityIsStrength ✊ https://t.co/EhgFSjUUAc
The first is to postpone the 2020 European Championship until the summer on 2021. This will allow the Premier League season until the end of June to finish the competition fairly plus the other leagues and cups in the English football system. If it becomes impossible for the season to be completed by the end of June the only other option is for the 2019/20 season to be void.
The latter of the two options may seem drastic but if we start changing the structure, the timings and the integrity of the competitions, it is only going to lead to problems in the future. This is a drastic situation and fairness for all must be the overriding aspect of any decision which is made.