Premier League’s chief executive, Richard Masters has said that he is confident of a June 12 restart of the league amid the COVID-19 crisis. The Premier League has been suspended since March 13 amid the COVID-19 crisis and June 12 has been identified as a possible date to restart. Players returned to training in small groups this week.
Many players are believed to be encouraged by what they saw after watching games being played again in the Bundesliga last weekend. German clubs began training in small groups from April 8 with their first round of league fixtures starting on May 16.
Now, Premier League chief, Richard Masters has stated that they are also planning a safe resumption of the sport in the country.
Premier League Chief Confident Of A June Return Of The League
“We’ve taken the first step,” Masters told BBC Sport. “It’s great for everybody, including the fans, to see our players back on the training ground,” he added.
Masters said that the Premier League remains flexible on the date of resumption, contingency plans were needed and “curtailment” was still an option.
“We wouldn’t have taken the first step to get back to training if we weren’t convinced we had created a very safe environment for our players. It is the first step and we have to be sure when we go to contact training we have completed those processes,” the Premier League chief added.
We Think Its Safe To Return Now: Richard Masters
“We have done everything we possibly can to make a return to training as safe as possible. We think it is safe to return. We have to respect players’ decisions not to return to training. I would be comfortable to return to training,” he added.
Empty stadiums, distant celebrations, masked substitutes, and the sound of the ball piercing the net, that’s how European football marked its return when Bundesliga continued their campaign after a break of almost two months because of the coronavirus outbreak globally.