The Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ will reportedly join together and try to block the idea of putting in place a June 30 cut-off date to finish the season.
Amid the coronavirus crisis, football like all sporting events has been shutdown as the world continues to battle the outbreak.
With the UK government announcing that the lockdown would continue for another three weeks at least, there isn’t expected to be any live action until the end of May at the earliest, while the expectation would be that it would come with strict measures including playing behind closed doors.
Ultimately, given the financial ramifications of the season not be completed and the additional headaches it would cause, all clubs up and down the chain will surely want to conclude matters.
With EURO 2020 being postponed and UEFA club competitions being pushed back, it frees up the schedule this summer for domestic leagues to finish up.
However, amid talk that June 30 was being touted as a cut-off date for some clubs ahead of a Premier League meeting on Friday, the Sun report that the ‘Big Six’ of Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham are united in their bid to avoid that happening and want the season played out in full.
That’s because they stand to lose £580m, more than the other 14 clubs put together, through various revenue streams including TV rights.
However, it’s added in the report that they are still one club short of being able to block the proposed date, and so it remains to be seen if they get the support that they need to avoid that scenario from playing out.
Nothing has been decided as of yet and ultimately all this could be out of their hands depending on the government’s plans and more importantly, if the coronavirus crisis is successfully contained as the weeks go on to allow for lockdown measures to be eased.
If those boxes are ticked, then the discussion around sports will start but planning ahead is also crucial and there doesn’t seem to be a consensus among clubs just yet.