The Premier League has announced that the 2019-20 season ‘will only return when it is safe and appropriate to do so’.
The English top flight had initially hoped to resume on April 30 at the earliest, but that is no longer realistic due to the coronavirus pandemic not yet peaking in the UK.
This afternoon, it announced in a statement that the campaign had been placed on hiatus until ‘it is safe and appropriate’ to start up again.
It was acknowledged that the Premier League will not resume at the beginning of May – and that the 2019/20 season will only return when it is safe and appropriate to do so.
The restart date is under constant review with all stakeholders, as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic develops and we work together through this very challenging time.
The Premier League is working closely with the whole of professional football in this country, as well as with the Government, public agencies and other relevant stakeholders to ensure the game achieves a collaborative solution.
With this, there is a combined objective for all remaining domestic league and cup matches to be played, enabling us to maintain the integrity of each competition.
However, any return to play will only be with the full support of Government and when medical guidance allows.
The sporting and financial implications for Premier League clubs as well as for The FA, EFL and National League were considered at today’s meeting.
Regarding possible pay cuts, the Premier League stated it had put across to its 20 member clubs ‘conditional reductions and deferrals amounting to 30 percent of total annual renumeration’.
Finally, the league vowed to pay £125m to England’s lower-league bodies – the EFL and National League – and a further £20m to the country’s healthcare system.
The move by the Premier League was swiftly followed Serie A, with the Italian league announcing that it has scrapped its initial target of resuming the season at the end of May and will now only do so once ‘health conditions allow it’.
