Could they void the PL due to the Coronavirus? | No | Resuming June 17th

[Dave Smith]

The Times reporting that their is push back in the PL by clubs who do not like the idea of the PL restarting. In particular, the two aspects that they do not like is:

1) The safety of re-starting play
2) Having to play at neutral venues, as this will take away home field advantage which is not consistent.

If this is true, then I think we are heading to the season being curtailed sooner rather than later as, owing to the French having ended their season, the PL's position is starting to become more and more untenable.

 

[Pexbo]

Does that mean that Liverpool should be the only team in Europe next season then?

I mean some of those teams would have qualified, but they didn't so can't be given European football.

There is not going to be any "Europe next season" and qualification is at the league's discretion anyway, if they wanted to change the rules and offer that on another criteria then that's up to them. "Champions" is not a discretionary title and is ties in to the very fabric of the competition, qualifying for Europe is not.

You can declare the season as finished and the take the current league table as the end result. We're not talking about 9 games into the season to just go ahead and call everything null and void that has happened in 29 games just because Liverpool was going to win it. Washing off 9 games is far more logical than washing off 29 and it's exactly what's going to happen in the worst case if football isn't resumed anytime soon.

What about the teams who have had their difficult away matches already and had been preparing themselves physically and mentality for a run in consisting of mostly easy home matches?

 

[Tel074]

Only that isn't happening.

Ofcourse there's a few people (yhat was always going to be the case) but the vast majority are sticking to the rules, infact I'd guess there's more going too far the other way than there is people actively flouting.

Mate look at London on a daily basis I wouldn't say the vast majority are . Even where I live it's obvious to see that people are starting to loosen their social distancing.

 

[Dancfc]

The Times reporting that their is push back in the PL by clubs who do not like the idea of the PL restarting.

In other words Tottenham, Arsenal, Norwich and West Ham.

 

[Tel074]

Why not? It's not any more unfair than calling everything null and void and preventing Leicester from getting CL football or Liverpool the title with 25 points ahead with 9 games remaining.

Of course there could also be a couple of relegation knockout games behind closed doors to determine who gets relegated.

Point being: There are far more possibilities that make sense during extraordinary circumstances than "29 games erased lol".

Because if you relegate teams from the PL who actually haven't been relegated on the pitch they will sue the life out of whoever they can . That's a instant loss of probably 100 million plus of earnings through no fault of their own .
That's a no go whatsoever . Teams can't be relegated so in that case you can't award the title

 

[balaks]

Now that France has made the call to stop everything till September I dont see how the Premiership can restart. I think they just need to accept it and void this season completely. We unfortunately may also need to forget about next season too and focus on the start of 2021/22 season. It sucks but I don't see how it can happen at the moment.

 

[buchansleftleg]

I think the PFA (flawed organisation that it is) should just come out and rule out allowing it's players to be potentially put in harms way and end this speculating about the league as some sort of political football to distract attention away from the mishandling of the government!

If lockdown is eased slightly I can make a choice to go back to my workplace and accept the increased chance of getting this disease. I can then calculate the risk that I may get it, but the symptoms won't be too bad. I can then even make a judgement that even if I get a strong reaction to the disease the chances are I will pull through OK.

However, I've no way of knowing what the long term effects might be from having pneumonia or other covid complications. Now in a desk-bound job I'm sure most would be easy to overcome, but would an elite level athlete be able to overcome losing say 5% of their lung capacity or would it end their career?

Let's say an elite club has around 100 players on their books including youth and academy setups. Would each club be happy to spin the wheel and end at least one of those careers? This is what some are asking their clubs to do. Will it be the promising youth player or the player valued at £150million?

Heading the ball leading to dementia, head injuries and concussion were all situations where footballers were not aware of the risks of what they were doing. I really don't think it's fair to pressure them into playing and risking their careers when the risks are all too apparent and testing is haphazard and unproven.

Players could be asymptomatic for days so testing only reduces the risk, does not eliminate it.
Playing behind closed doors does not reduce the risk for players in a contact sport
What reaction do you think will happen if games take place? Say Liverpool win their first game back...the fans will all stay at home giving each other a distant high five over zoom? or maybe the streets will fill with fans celebrating a title win.
Are you happy to divert ambulances and paramedics away from front line services to sit doing nothing for 3 hours - or do we play without them and risk a player getting a terrible injury with no treatment?

 

[Redcy]

Two weeks ago a large number of people were convinced the league would be finished, BcD for certain, but its getting to the point now that seems less and less likely. I genuinely don't think the FA will null and void, its arguably the fairest to all teams (as that way teams have had the same opportunities and teams wont get relegated because they have played one less game).

My feeling for a while, since the Dutch ruling was offered, is that we will see the same thing in the UK and France (France have not said they will name a champion, just what the final standings will be):

1) League standings for this year will be as is.
2) No promotion or relegation. I think they will just say tough to the EFL, I don't imagine the PL has to do promotions/relegations if it doesnt want to. Too many teams in the PL could in theory have won out from here on, its certainly not any guarantee that even Norwich go down, without looking at Villa, etc. I don't think with the way CV is going they will want to mess about with adding teams to the league.
3) European spots, they will award as is, UEFA have stated thats what they expect. I don't think it will matter as I think the euro comps won't start until next year anyway, if at all.
4) Which just leaves Liverpool. I genuinely have no idea what the FA will do, in theory they should stick by the principles of not giving out the title. My guess is that they will a) give it to Liverpool straight up, or b) Ask the PL teams to vote on it blind. If they ask for a vote I think they would be awarded it. If they do this though it does set a dangerous precedent for next year. For example if United are 2 points at the top of the league after 14 games, they would have to be nominated as title winners. Or you start coming up with arbitrary numbers for the number of games or points you have to have. No doubt the FA will shit out from the harder decision. I don't think its right though and it will be sung about and derided by fans everywhere.

If they choose to go PPG then I see that as worse as not all games are the same.

 

[cyberman]

Dybala just tested positive for the 4th tine in 5 weeks.
The testing reliability simply isnt there to play 100 odd games without the carnage that a false positive test would bring.

 

[Acole9]

I believe it was temporary.

it should be kept in place, protect the lower leagues. Where are you from if you don’t mind me asking?

Seems a bit pointless when there was no football on when this was mentioned.

I'm from the outskirts of London why?

 

[Amir]

If a player in a team tested positive the whole team and coach needs a quarantine. They're travelling in the same bus and sharing the same dressing room.

And i suspect asking the players to play football and being in physical touch with other players and getting corona is a ground for a lawsuit.

We're not even talking about human error. Label misplaced. Players missing the test. Faulty test pack. Etc.

I dont think even sponsors would want any parts in that with the potential of bad rep

Yep. Before the Premier League was stopped, it seemed the attitude of the people running it was to close their eyes and hope things turn out well and no one gets infected. Arteta was. League done.

Returning in the way proposed would be the same.

 

[Redcy]

This is what I do not understand with the bundesliga. They come out with conflicting rules and then state that if one player is infected they would not lockdown the associated players. So what happens if half your squad is infected.
The other one with the German “suggestions” was around testing temperatures at the ground, what happens when players test too hot? And isn’t that the worst possible method for cv checking? All seems a bit bizarre to me? Are the BL actually trying to get the government to ban football so they can avoid contractual issues?

 

[tenpoless]

I for one am certain that no Liverpool fan would object to losing a title and instead get a ONE point head start next year

Hell, give them a +2 goal difference as well.

It'll be like their fantasy fair play league modifiers all over again.

Just rename the club AaaaLiverpool - much easier, the first league table is in alphabetical order. It would be give them a permanent reminder of when they called themselves the best team in the world and didn’t win a thing

 

[Salt Bailly]

They must also be taking into account the mass fan celebrations that will occur as soon as the title is awarded. Voiding the season eradicates this.

Would that inevitably lead to mass protests?

Probably.

In conclusion, Liverpool fans are idiots.

 

[macheda14]

Mate look at London on a daily basis I wouldn't say the vast majority are . Even where I live it's obvious to see that people are starting to loosen their social distancing.

You forget how many people are in London. The vast majority are keeping to the rules, it’s just that now what would have looked like a very quiet day outside looks very busy.

 

[Cal?]

Now that France has made the call to stop everything till September I dont see how the Premiership can restart. I think they just need to accept it and void this season completely. We unfortunately may also need to forget about next season too and focus on the start of 2021/22 season. It sucks but I don't see how it can happen at the moment.

But Germany could confirm they're going ahead as early as next week?

 

[balaks]

But Germany could confirm they're going ahead as early as next week?

I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[dwd]

They must also be taking into account the mass fan celebrations that will occur as soon as the title is awarded. Voiding the season eradicates this.

Would that inevitably lead to mass protests?

Probably.

In conclusion, Liverpool fans are idiots.

The only safe conclusion is to keep them stuck in this current league table forever on a loop whilst everyone else just moves on to a separate new league.

 

[Sky1981]

The Times reporting that their is push back in the PL by clubs who do not like the idea of the PL restarting. In particular, the two aspects that they do not like is:

1) The safety of re-starting play
2) Having to play at neutral venues, as this will take away home field advantage which is not consistent.

If this is true, then I think we are heading to the season being curtailed sooner rather than later as, owing to the French having ended their season, the PL's position is starting to become more and more untenable.

The PL Teams:

Starting league without gate receipt = losing money.

At least now they can furlough (half payment) the staff and send them home. A full league will meant everyone back on the job and no gate receipt. Better off without football from financial PoV

 

[macheda14]

Dybala just tested positive for the 4th tine in 5 weeks.
The testing reliability simply isnt there to play 100 odd games without the carnage that a false positive test would bring.

Why does Dybala testing positive for the 4th time relate to reliability? It’s possible that he‘s seronegative (I think that’s the right word) and so doesn’t develop the antibodies for it. There seem to be quite a few cases of that.

 

[Amir]

But Germany could confirm they're going ahead as early as next week?

Like someone here wrote, I'll believe it when I see it.

Still, I would expect that the Bundesliga will lead the way for the other big leagues. If it returns and it goes OK, they'll see it as a sign they can try as well. If it doesn't return, or returns and it doesn't work, the rest will give up.

 

[Redcy]

Why does Dybala testing positive for the 4th time relate to reliability? It’s possible that he‘s seronegative (I think that’s the right word) and so doesn’t develop the antibodies for it. There seem to be quite a few cases of that.

Whilst you are right it could be this, from what can be found in medical studies of these tests, the best accuracy is around 60% at the moment for rapid tess (as low as 30%). I feel it may improve over time though

 

[hmchan]

Whilst you are right it could be this, from what can be found in medical studies of these tests, the best accuracy is around 60% at the moment for rapid tess (as low as 30%). I feel it may improve over time though

Rapid test kits are only suitable for early screening. Once diagnosed, patients are subject to viral load monitoring by the PCR method, which is the gold standard for the detection of various known viruses. I'm not sure about the case of Dybala, but from what he says, it seems he's tested positive because of the remaining inactive virus in his body. Once the remaining virus is cleared, he should be tested negative.

 

[jymufc20]

They must also be taking into account the mass fan celebrations that will occur as soon as the title is awarded. Voiding the season eradicates this.

Would that inevitably lead to mass protests?

Probably.

In conclusion, Liverpool fans are idiots.

 

[tenpoless]

They must also be taking into account the mass fan celebrations that will occur as soon as the title is awarded. Voiding the season eradicates this.

Would that inevitably lead to mass protests?

Probably.

In conclusion, Liverpool fans are idiots.

Well, They could make a scenario that would ensure voiding the League without causing any mass protest during times of Pandemic. They could begin a secret vote among Premier League teams (and only member of the boards know about this) aside from Liverpool to make sure They would shut up during the process. When more than 50% of the teams agree to void it, hand a 'trophy' to Liverpool but with one condition, tell them and publicly announce : "We will void the league & award you but only if Liverpool, their supporters, staffs and players agree to delay the celebration until 2021. If this rule is breached, Liverpool will be relegated and the 'trophy' will be awarded to Everton". There's no way They would let that happen. But here's the genius part, notice the text "We will award you", it says that there will be an award but it says nothing about THE ACTUAL PL trophy being awarded.

So what the FA's going to do after that is send them a fake trophy (created with original materials), that has a micro disclaimer text "Fair Play Champions 2020" unseen to human eyes. There won't be any protest and everyone will be happy until the trophy explodes by 2021 and inside of it is a replica of the vote results and a very important note saying "Congratulations! You have been awarded The Fair Play Trophy for being good during Pandemic". There might be riots after that but The FA can punish them and have the control because : 1) The vote result was decided and the outcome was clear, regardless if Liverpool voted or not and; 2) The transparency of the information was there, inside of the trophy and the tiny micro text on it. The fact that there is no microscope in Liverpool is not the FA's fault

 

[Nou_Camp99]

Well, the French League hasn't done anything yet, they still have to make their decision on how to end the league.
It seems there are at least two models. Use the Scottish/Belgium model by cancelling games but declaring a winner OR Dutch model by cancelling with no winners.

Because Liverpool are so far ahead I think the league will give it to us, just like Scotland and Belgium, if it was closer then I think it wouldn't happen, that my biased and not so biased opinion.

You can't award a title and not relegate anyone though. It's got to be both or neither. Doing just the title will cause even more issues surely.

 

[2 man midfield]

It either gets finished in its entirety or gets voided completely. Anything in between screws somebody over, and the longer this drags on the more likely the latter option becomes.

 

[Dancfc]

Anything in between screws somebody over,

As does a void.

Why should Sheffield and Leicester be punished while the North London duo effectively get a football handout?

 

[2 man midfield]

As does a void.

Why should Sheffield and Leicester be punished while the North London duo effectively get a football handout?

Why should they be rewarded for something they haven’t yet earned? Neither scenario is a good one, but the first is the lesser of two evils.

 

[Dancfc]

Why should they be rewarded for something they haven’t yet earned? Neither scenario is a good one, but the first is the lesser of two evils.

And why should Arsenal and Spurs get CL football when it's looking all the world they won't even be qualifaying for Europe?

Any (and I mean any) way it can be sorted with the current table is fairer than letting those two off the hook.

 

[RobinLFC]

It either gets finished in its entirety or gets voided completely. Anything in between screws somebody over, and the longer this drags on the more likely the latter option becomes.

Voiding it screws teams over too (and no I'm not talking exclusively about Liverpool).

 

[Tel074]

You forget how many people are in London. The vast majority are keeping to the rules, it’s just that now what would have looked like a very quiet day outside looks very busy.

Totally agree but it's still enough to keep this virus spreading . As long as hundreds are dying everyday we will have no sports or bars and restaurants

 

[Flying high]

I just can't see them getting through 9/10 league games without any players or key figures being tested positive. If you play some of the games, then a club gets hit with several cases, what happens? Suspend it again? For how long? Is one player testing positive enough or do we need 5 players missing from a squad to call it off?

Say it's agreed to 'give it a try'. It would need to be decided in advance, what would happen if the games couldn't all be completed. Void or as it stands. For example, we win the first couple of games and find ourselves in 4th. We then send Phil Jones off to hang around the hospital for a while. Bingo, league suspended and we get CL football. That surely can't be the way forward.

Suspend all football until it's safe for fans to attend. Decide then whether finishing this season or starting a new one is most suitable, based on time of year. I hate the idea of a year or more without football. But given everything, it's a small price to pay to keep people safe.

 

[Andersonson]

If anyone thinking we're 3 - 6 months away from football they're kidding themselves.

We'd be lucky if we have football in the next 12 months

Football is starting up several places in the coming months

 

[Sky1981]

Football is starting up several places in the coming months

I'll believe it when i see it

 

[Alabaster Codify7]

I just can't see them getting through 9/10 league games without any players or key figures being tested positive. If you play some of the games, then a club gets hit with several cases, what happens? Suspend it again? For how long? Is one player testing positive enough or do we need 5 players missing from a squad to call it off?

Say it's agreed to 'give it a try'. It would need to be decided in advance, what would happen if the games couldn't all be completed. Void or as it stands. For example, we win the first couple of games and find ourselves in 4th. We then send Phil Jones off to hang around the hospital for a while. Bingo, league suspended and we get CL football. That surely can't be the way forward.

Suspend all football until it's safe for fans to attend. Decide then whether finishing this season or starting a new one is most suitable, based on time of year. I hate the idea of a year or more without football. But given everything, it's a small price to pay to keep people safe.

You've just won the internet for today, good stuff mate! Hahahaha!

 

[bleedred]

If Liverpool are awarded the league can we get awarded the europa and fa double, seeing as we were favs to win both just like Liverpool.

 

[laughtersassassin]

Voiding it does scre some over too. In fact it screws United over a lot

My preference is season is finished but if it is not void the thing cause just cause s team is in X position now it doesn't mean they earned it until it's over.

For example if Liverpool are awarded title or Chelsea 4th then Nowrich should be relegated in the same precedent set.

No great options tbh.

 

[Dave Smith]

In other words Tottenham, Arsenal, Norwich and West Ham.

Not so sure about Arsenal and Spurs, I think if anything happens now it will mean the Dutch model, which still means no CL for them. However, you could probably replace them with Leicester and Chelsea who would benefit. After that, I would add Bournemouth, Watford, Villa, Brighton, and City to that list of certain to want to curtail/Dutch model as those teams are either in danger of relegation or have no real benefit from playing on (City).

Further to this, I would say Newcastle, Everton, Palace, Southampton and Burnley have no real skin in the game and so a restart under such conditions would not benefit them/be worth the risk.

That just leaves Utd, Dippers, Sheff Utd, Spurs, Arsenal and Wolves who would benefit from a continuation of the league but, even then, some of those teams are unlikely to benefit by much.

 

[TheReligion]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/foot...er-junior-sambia-artificial-coma-coronavirus/

Sorry if already posted, but Montpellier player Junior Samba has been put in a coma after testing positive for coronavirus.

The Times reporting that their is push back in the PL by clubs who do not like the idea of the PL restarting. In particular, the two aspects that they do not like is:

1) The safety of re-starting play
2) Having to play at neutral venues, as this will take away home field advantage which is not consistent.

If this is true, then I think we are heading to the season being curtailed sooner rather than later as, owing to the French having ended their season, the PL's position is starting to become more and more untenable.

And here we go...