Premier League clubs face having to pay a huge refund to broadcasters even if they manage to complete the season behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Broadcasters would be reimbursed for matches not being played as scheduled and the lack of atmosphere in empty stadiums is also a factor.
The BBC reported that the bill facing the English top flight, which continued talks on “Project Restart” on Monday, could be as high as ￡340 million (US$418 million).
Photo: Reuters
“We were able to update our clubs today on our situation with broadcasters, which is obviously confidential,” Premier League CEO Richard Masters said.
“Whatever happens, there’s going to be significant loss of revenue for clubs. That is inevitable,” he said.
“We were able to paint a picture today about what would happen in various scenarios, playing out the season and not playing out the season, to allow them to have a picture of that as we stand in the early part of May,” he added.
The rebate to broadcasters would surge to an estimated ￡760 million if the season cannot be completed.
Masters has warned of a ￡1 billion loss once the absence of gate receipts is taken into account.
For the first time, the 20 Premier League clubs on Monday discussed models that might have to be used to decide final standings if it is not deemed safe to resume the season.
New government guidelines have paved the way for elite sport to return behind closed doors in England from June 1.
However, England internationals Raheem Sterling and Danny Rose are the two latest high-profile players to raise concern over a return to contact sport when the rest of society is being advised to follow social distancing guidelines.
“The moment we do go back it just needs to be a moment where it’s not just for footballing reasons, it’s safe for not just us footballers, but the whole medical staff, referees,” Sterling said in a video posted on YouTube.
“[I am] not scared, but reserved and thinking what the worst outcome could be,” he said.
“I’ve had friends whose grandma has passed away, I’ve had family members as well that have passed away,” he added.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday told parliament that the return of sport on TV would “provide a much-needed boost to national morale” in a country that has been one of the worst hit by the pandemic.
“People’s lives are at risk,” Rose, who is on loan from Tottenham Hotspur to Newcastle United, said on Instagram. “Football shouldn’t even be spoken about coming back until the numbers have dropped massively.”
However, Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Gordon Taylor said that many of his members would be open to playing again provided “everything that can be done is being done” to ensure their safety.
“We’ve got to try it, see if we can do it and see if we can return to some form of activity,” Taylor told the Daily Mirror. “But it’s also being as careful and having as many assurances as possible that it’s achievable.”
The Premier League yesterday was to meet the association and the managers’ union to discuss protocols for a return to group training.
A further complication for Project Restart is where matches would be played, with the clubs opposed to a proposal for a limited number of neutral venues to be used.
The UK’s national soccer policing lead previously said that resuming matches on a home-and-away basis would “present challenges” to public health resources.
However, Mark Roberts on Tuesday said that police, government and soccer authorities were working together on a plan “which minimizes any risks to public safety and unnecessary pressure on public services, but facilitates a sensible restart to the season.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has voiced opposition to playing matches in the capital at this stage, with the city having been particularly badly hit by the pandemic.
Five of the 20 Premier League sides are based in London.
“With the country still in the grips of this crisis, and hundreds of people dying every day, he believes that it is too early to be discussing the resumption of the Premier League and top-flight sport in the capital,” Khan’s spokesperson told the Evening Standard.
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
Denmark’s double Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen, long a rival of Taiwan’s former world No. 2 Chou Tien-chen, yesterday announced his retirement at age 32, saying back problems meant he could no longer “compete and train at the highest level.” Axelsen, who won gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and again in Paris in 2024, had back surgery in April last year and said he had not overcome his physical issues. “Accepting this situation has been incredibly difficult,” he said in a statement. “But I have now reached a point where my body won’t allow me to continue.” Axelsen retires as one
SEASON ENDING: The Nuggets took the third seed in the Western Conference and are to face the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round The Denver Nuggets, fueled by 23 first-half points from Nikola Jokic, on Sunday beat the San Antonio Spurs 128-118, notching their 12th straight victory to clinch the Western Conference third seed on the last day of the NBA regular season. On a day when coaches rested dozens of players in preparation for the looming playoffs, three-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Jokic had to play at least 15 minutes to be eligible for end of season awards, including MVP. The Serbian big man played just over 18, propelling the Nuggets to a 70-56 halftime lead that they would not relinquish
RSS