Speaking to Football Italia, Pierpaolo Marino, director at Udinese, has suggested that the Premier League season is to be declared over imminently.
Premier League Season is Over, According to Serie A Director
Current Situation
The Premier League announced on Monday 5 April that football will not return on April 30, and it will only return when safe to do so.
As a result, this has left clubs to figure out how they will deal with the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic. Tottenham, Newcastle United and Norwich City have all placed staff on furlough leave as a cost-cutting measure.
However, Pierpaolo Marino now believes that the Premier League will announce that its season is over. He said: “The Belgian Federation has already sanctioned the end of their league, despite the threats of sanctions from UEFA.
“In England, the Premier League is about to release a similar statement, because the situation there is becoming very, very serious. I frankly just hope we can enjoy football again after the coronavirus.
“It doesn’t matter how long it takes, we need to get out of this danger zone. I am worried for the next seasons, not the old one.”
Marino’s Udinese are owned by the Pozzo family, who also own relegation-threatened Watford.
Financial Implications
Declaring the season over is likely to have major financial implications on all 20 clubs.
According to the BBC, the English top-flight ‘could lose £1 billion’ should football not return soon. Furthermore, it also estimated that clubs will have to repay over £700 million to TV companies in lost revenue.
Should the 2019/20 season finish, it is unclear as to how final places would be settled. Declaring it ‘null and void’ is likely to bring legal ramifications. It would deny Liverpool a first title in 30 years, and have a re-occurring effect filtering down into the EFL, as it is unclear how promotion would be settled.
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