Premier League clubs set for crunch meeting to decide season restart plans

The Premier League will insist on a “spirit of compromise” ahead of what is expected to be a fractious Monday videoconference, and what many sources believe could be the most consequential football meeting in a long time.

While it is not certain that a vote will be held on how the competition will return, the key details – like testing and stadiums – will again be discussed in the hope of coming closer to consensus ahead of Uefa’s 25 May cut-off point for solutions.

The build-up to the videoconference has already been complicated by Brighton chief executive Paul Barber’s revelation that three of the club’s players had tested positive for coronavirus, with concern over that running alongside growing tension since the last meeting on 1 May.

Suspicion has similarly grown since then, both due to briefings and public comments. It was reported by The Independent on Friday that some members of the top 14 have started calling the bottom six ‘Project Sabotage’. That is in jest but there are more serious questions about why they keep just putting up obstacles to any solutions, with no alternatives. On the other side, the bottom six feel it is unfair to cast them in that light, as they do want football back in some form – but through the fairest solution.

That is where the primary tension lies, with the issue of neutral grounds proving a lightning rod discussion.

The bottom six have declared their opposition to it. The top 14 and Premier League have repeated to them that it is simply non-negotiable since this is the only way the government and police have said that football is coming back. It is the only way safety requirements can be met.

This is where the Premier League hope to strike some sort of compromise. While potential solutions are complicated, the situation is relatively simple.

If football does not get back up and running, they could lose out on more than £700m of international broadcasting income. While Sky and BT would not push for returns due to their symbiotic relationship with the Premier League, that would not be the case for rights holders abroad.

It is this situation that has of course made the competition lucrative, and is precisely why so many clubs are concerned about the changed parameters of potentially going down. It has similarly been stressed to clubs that scrapping relegation is off the table.

Figures within the Premier League will insist, however, that not resuming football as soon as is safe in neutral grounds could have consequences beyond that immediate money or this season. It could – in the words of one source – “kill the golden goose” due to the knock-on effect on next season, and the perception of the competition abroad and among broadcasters.

If that happens, it will not be just relegation places on the line. It may be an existential threat to jobs and even clubs.

The same rationale has also been impressed upon the players, who see their own lucrative pay structure at risk, despite understandable concerns about the safety of playing in this environment. There have also been fair complaints from some within the game that the players and staff have not yet been consulted. The Premier League, however, plan full breakdowns of what ‘Project Restart’ will entail – and how assurances can be made on safety – once they agree on how to get back playing.

As with the inevitability of positive tests, this may be another area that requires creative solutions, and even the potential for individual opt-outs. The message on Monday will nevertheless be clear: if they don’t play within the current parameters, clubs are going to have to be prepared for some very big changes.