English Premier League finally sets to restart season on June 12, as training is ongoing as from May 18 till the league will resume action in next month.
Testing, medical protocols and any potential return to group training were also discussed on Monday, with further meetings between players and managers set to follow this week.
Premier League clubs could return to group training on May 18 – next Monday – subject to approval by players,
Masters said “it is possible” that we could see the first phase of group training at Premier League clubs by next week but he could not yet confirm whether the league would return to action on June 12.
“I really wouldn’t want to make a prediction now. Clearly we have plans but they’re all flexible”, he said.
“We want to remain in step with government and the authorities. We want to remain in step with the mood of football supporters”.
“I really wouldn’t want to make a prediction now. Clearly we have plans but they’re all flexible”, he said.
“We want to remain in step with government and the authorities. We want to remain in step with the mood of football supporters”.
The Government’s roadmap out of lockdown begins, but with a caveat that could stop the return of football and all sport in its tracks before it’s even got going again.
It has an ambition, an aspiration to allow professional sporting events behind closed doors from June 1 onwards. Ambition and aspiration are key words here, it is not definite, it is not set in stone. Far from it.
At any point on the journey towards a ‘new normal’ that includes the return of football, if the alert level rises or positive tests or deaths rise then the return of the beautiful game just will not happen as unacceptable risks will not be taken by the government. Football’s restart or any other sport is just not important enough in the grand scheme of public health.
A lot has been debated about a lack of clarity around the Government’s roadmap and right now it is reasonable to understand confusion from sports fans and those whose livelihood is from sport.
Only two pages of the 50-page document published on Monday relate in any way to sport or sporting activity. With regard to professional sport it’s pretty much ‘June 1 behind closed doors… if possible’.
Greater detail on that could well come on Tuesday as I understand cross-sport medical working groups have already compiled proposals about how a safe return to training schedules will look although those proposals are continuously being tweaked and amended.
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