The Guardian reports that the EFL will not resume in early April when the current fixture suspension is scheduled to lift, as uncertainty grips UK football.
On Friday afternoon, the association released a statement confirming that all matches had been suspended with immediate effect, until 3rd April at the earliest.
However, it’s now claimed that the entire UK is set for a much longer period without professional football, with the authorities only just beginning to work out the permutations of the global health pandemic.
It’s suggested that rather than resuming again in a few weeks time, seasons may not be completed.
The Guardian reports that an ‘executive at a Premier League club’ informed them that the initial suspension simply provided a ‘holding period’ during which clubs and governing bodies could come to terms with the challenges currently facing them.
What’s more, as cases of coronavirus in the UK will not peak for some time [The Guardian], a ‘senior figure in the EFL’ asserted it would be ‘impossible’ for matches to resume in early April when the situation is still expected to be worsening.
Given that, doubts have been raised over whether or not there would be sufficient time to complete domestic seasons, even if Euro 2020 was postponed for a year.
Verdict
On Friday morning it was all about whether or not matches would be postponed. Fast forward 24 hours and the debate has shifted to whether or not they will ever be played.
UEFA are reportedly ready to propose major changes which would allow the completion of the Europa and Champions Leagues [The Mirror], but based on this latest report, their plans look particularly far-fetched.
Clearly, experts will be consulted to determine when a return to playing would be possible, but the immediate priority has to be public health.
Having postponed things at this stage, there would simply be no logic in resuming the EFL, SPFL or any league for that matter, as the number of cases increases.
More will be known after the UEFA summit scheduled for Tuesday, but it looks likely there’ll be no football in the UK for the foreseeable future.
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