All Premier League, EFL and WSL and FAW football is suspended until April 4th and it is uncertain if sports events will restart after that date.
The Euro 2020 is also under threat and with UEFA meeting on Tuesday the 16th of March, we’re waiting to hear what the proposals will be. The most likely outcome is that the Euro 2020 will be postponed to 2021 as the host countries will not have enough time to start preparation, even if the virus is contained within the coming weeks. Even though, some injured players could benefit from postponing Euro 2020, the fans would certainly be disappointed.This is the most likely scenario for the Euro, but what are the likely scenarios for the Premier League?
Continue the 4th of April
If, and that’s a big if, football can continue Saturday the 4th of April, the most likely scenario is that we start playing again and the league resumes where it left off. It is very likely the Euro 2020 will be delayed a year and, in this way, domestic leagues around Europe are to be concluded after all. Postponing the Euro 2020 though would be the ideal scenario for the Premier League, and we could still complete the season a few weeks later than planned.
Finish as it stands
Another option is to finish the season and keep the league positions as they stand at this moment. At the top, there wouldn’t be many issues as Liverpool was destined to win the Premier League and even the number two and three positions are likely going to stay as is. The number four position has still not been decided but this would be a hurdle which could be overcome.
In the relegation battle, with just four points separating 19th placed Aston Villa and 15th placed Brighton, this would be problematic. Could such decisions which have massive financial ramifications be taken without dealing with legal backlash? Not likely. The clubs on the wrong side of the relegation line would most certainly start a legal battle to fight this decision.
Promotion and no relegation
One more, maybe farfetched, proposal is to solve the issue as discussed in the previous paragraph by letting two clubs from the Championship promote to the Premier League without any teams relegating. In this way, relegation would be scrapped with the top two from the Championship, Leeds United and West Brom being promoted.
Also here, legal battles could follow as other clubs in the top-6 in the Championship would find this decision to be unjust. With 22 teams in the Premier League next season, this would as well create more pressure on an already packed calendar next season. But this is something that could be overcome.
Season declared void
If we are not able to restart the Premier League on the 4th of April or soon after, the most likely scenario might be to declare the 2019/20 season void. West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady is of the opinion that declaring the season void would be the only answer if games cannot be completed. This would certainly be the most logical decision legally, as we are dealing with a force majeure which no one could have predicted.
In this case scenario, the biggest disappointment would be heard in the streets of Liverpool. If the season is declared void if wouldn’t matter that Liverpool is 25 points ahead of Man City. And even though The Reds were 99.99% sure they were going to win the Premier League for the first time ever, they would have to wait at least one more year.
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