Brighton and Hove Albion chief executive Paul Barber has said that the club are “not in favour” of playing the remaining Premier League fixtures at neutral grounds, as reported by BBC Sport.
On Friday, Premier League sides were told during a regular video conference call that playing all remaining fixtures at neutral venues could be the only way to complete the current campaign.
REPORT: Brighton and Hove Albion Chief Executive Against Neutral Venues
Neutral Venues to Complete Season
The Premier Leagues’ latest proposal is to complete the current campaign, but play all remaining fixtures at neutral venues.
The major factor is to try and reduce the number of supporters congregating around the stadium on a matchday despite the fixture being played behind closed doors.
The Premier League have proposed up to ten neutral grounds, with one or two possibly not top-flight venues, which have been deemed safe with ratings from the police and the Sports Grounds Safety Authority.
Barber’s Comments
As reported by the BBC, Barber said: “Clearly, we must all be prepared to accept some compromises. We fully appreciate why playing behind closed doors is very likely to be a necessary compromise to play our remaining games while continuing to fully support the government’s efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus.
“But at this critical point in the season, playing matches in neutral venues has, in our view, potential to have a material effect on the integrity of the competition.”
He added: “Five of our nine remaining matches [are] due to be played at the Amex – all five matches are very difficult but four are against some of the biggest clubs in European football.
“The disadvantages of us not playing the league’s top teams in our home stadium and in familiar surroundings, even with 27,000 Albion fans very unlikely to be present at the Amex, are very obvious.
“Clearly, we must accept there may also be some benefit from playing our remaining four away matches at neutral venues but the fixture list simply isn’t equally balanced at this stage of the season, and we didn’t play our first 29 matches of the season in this way. So, in our opinion, one thing doesn’t cancel out the other.”
Brighton’s Season so Far
It has been a disappointing season for Graham Potters’ side. Despite a relatively good start to the season, the Seagulls sit just two points above the bottom three in 15th.
Although Barber wants the remaining fixtures played at the correct venue, the Seagulls face four difficult home matches with Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City all due to visit the Amex Stadium this season.
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