There is a plan for the Premier League to potentially return to action on June 8, and play matches behind closed doors in neutral venues. The first phases of so-called “Project Restart” are underway, but there are of course, lots of obstacles to be overcome, and a whole lot could change between now at the time targeted for starting up again. The next meeting, on May 8, will be extremely critical, and we’ll know more on that day.
There are still some who believe that matches can go on, again with no fans, in each club’s venue, so there would be home and away games. Liverpool FC and the Mayor of the city, Joe Anderson, do not see eye to eye on this issue.
Anderson said yesterday that the optimal solution would be to end the season and declare Liverpool the well-deserved champions. It’s what France’s Ligue 1 did this week, declaring Paris Saint-Germain the champions. Meanwhile the Dutch Eredivisie, one week ago, officially ended its season with no champions, relegation or UEFA Champions League qualification declared.
“Even if it was behind closed doors, there’d be many thousands of people who would turn up outside Anfield,” said Anderson, an admitted supporter of the Reds’ Merseyside Derby rivals Everton.
“There’s not many people who would respect what we were saying and stay away from the ground, a lot of people would come to celebrate so I think it’s a non-starter.
“I think it would be really difficult for the police to keep people apart and maintain social distancing if they were going to celebrate outside Anfield. It would be farcical.”
The club has hit back at this commentary, saying in a prepared statement that they are “disappointed,” retorting that Anderson has “a lack of evidence to support such claims.”
The statement goes on to say that “In recent weeks, we have engaged with supporters’ groups who have informed us of their determination to respect social distancing measures and, in the event of a resumption of football being announced, we would continue to work with them.”
It’s inevitable that some fans are going to show up in the parking lot, or hang out by the gates for matches played behind closed doors. You can’t stop that, but perhaps you can prohibit any adverse impact from it by having police in place. Of course, it is a drain on public resources to do that.
No one in Europe has been able to return yet from the coronavirus pandemic. There are growing concerns about Italy’s Serie A returning.
Even in Germany, a nation led by a scientist where they have done an exemplary job of containment, there are still issues. The return of the Bundesliga is being delayed by a recent spike in COVID-19 cases.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
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