The Premier League have taken a big step which could see the season resume soon, and be completed in a smaller time frame.
As reported by The Times, the English top flight have lifted the blackout on 3pm fixtures – usually in place to allow exposure for smaller clubs around the country.
The Premier League’s statement said: ‘Taking into account the current exceptional circumstances, UEFA has lifted the ‘blocked hours’ protection granted to the England and Scotland for the remainder of the 2019-20 season football season, following requests from the relevant national associations as a result of measures taken in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.’
This now means more games could get played in a smaller time frame, with reports of a potential World Cup style tournament and as many as three games being played by each team each week.
The Premier League are desperate to get the game underway again, as they’d be forced to fork up almost £800million to Sky and BT in refunds if the season isn’t completed on time.
It is believed that the UK Government are keen on the idea of restarting football, as it would get even more people to stay at home to watch the game, with the pubs still closed.
Any way that gets the title done safely is fine with us, although we’d probably rather just wait it out and resume this season in normal fashion when the COVID-19 pandemic properly slows down – whenever that is.