FIFA are expected to announce an indefinite suspension to the 2019/20 season, which should remove concerns over a possible void for the current Premier League campaign.
Uncertainty reigns over football at this stage, with the UK among a host of countries on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic and sport taking a backseat.
But talks are ongoing over when and how the campaign will resume, as wider interests require a long-term solution to an event which requires significant physical, emotional and financial investment.
All signs are that the season will not be voided, despite calls from various players to do so if fixtures cannot be fulfilled in the near future—with Man United‘s Luke Shaw joining other ‘big six’ rivals in claiming it should be “scrapped.”
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has expressed his preference to see games played behind closed doors rather than cancelled, particularly from the perspective of fans “because it brings positive energy to their homes.”
Now, according to The Athletic, FIFA are set to “confirm an indefinite extension to the 2019/20 season across the globe.”
Further alterations to the summer transfer window and rules over contracts expiring on June 30 will also be announced “in the next 48 hours,” which “will afford maximum flexibility with FIFA appreciating the spread of coronavirus is different in each country.”
It is claimed that this “does not take null and void off the table,” but it clearly decreases the likelihood of any other leagues following the Belgian First Division A’s proposal to conclude the season as it stands.
The Premier League‘s statement on Friday confirmed that “the 2019/20 season will only return when it is safe and appropriate to do so,” but “there is a combined objective for all remaining domestic league and cup matches to be played.”
Most recently, it has been claimed that the English top flight is in “advanced talks” with the government regarding a possible behind-closed-doors resumption in June.
But all matters are up in the air while the pandemic is ongoing, which ensures even rulings from FIFA and UEFA should come with an asterisk.
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