Broadcasters will be able to screen
Premier League games kicking off at 15:00 live for the remainder of the
season after UEFA lifted restrictions.
The English and Scottish Football Associations have been granted
permission to remove the traditional 15:00 blackout by European football’s
governing body.
The move would appear to be another step towards matches being played
behind closed doors in order to complete the season after the
coronavirus pandemic caused mass postponements across league and cup
competitions.
A UEFA statement read: “Taking into account the current exceptional
circumstances, UEFA has lifted the ‘blocked hours’ protection granted to
the UEFA Member Associations for England and Scotland for the remainder
of the 2019/20 football season, following requests from the relevant
National Associations as a result of measures taken in relation to the
Covid-19 pandemic.”
It was confirmed on Friday that professional football would not
return at the start of May, with a restart date being kept under
constant review.
The Premier League and EFL remain committed to completing the 2019/20
season, with UEFA having warned that clubs in competitions which it
deems have been cancelled prematurely may not be eligible to play in
next season’s Champions League or Europa League.
Premier League clubs are also conscious of the financial impact that
the failure to complete the season would have. It has been reported that
clubs stand to lose around £750 million if no further matches are
played.
It was reported on Monday that a World Cup-style camp is one solution
being considered by Premier League clubs as a means to complete the
current campaign.
Clubs could gather in a neutral location to play out the remainder of
the season behind closed doors, with only those personnel essential to
staging and broadcasting the games allowed to attend to minimise the
chance of a coronavirus infection.
The clubs remain committed to completing the season and are keen to
avoid facing any financial penalties from broadcasters for failing to
fulfil fixtures.
It has been reported that if no further matches were played, it could cost clubs £750 million.
There are a number of difficulties with the idea, not least how to
deal with the necessity to have medical staff on hand during a public
health crisis, and how the format could survive even one positive
Covid-19 test.
But the idea of multiple matches being televised on a daily basis
throughout June and July, if the infection curve has flattened by then,
could have some merit.
– TEAMtalk media
