There is a growing desire within the Premier League and EFL to have the season finished one way or another by June 30.
Top-flight clubs will meet this morning via video conference and the current return date of April 4 is expected to be pushed back with the support of the FA.
But an increasing number of Premier League clubs are also lobbying for a cut-off date at which a decision will be made on whether to abandon attempts to play outstanding matches. There is a strong belief that playing any football after June 30, when some players’ contracts expire, could prove to be almost impossible.
Should the coronavirus crisis prevent a resumption by the cut-off point, huge decisions will have to be made over how to deal with the premature end to the campaign. Are Liverpool declared title-winners and Aston Villa relegated along with Norwich and Bournemouth? Is the season declared null and void? What of Leeds and West Bromwich Albion and their promotion hopes — and so on down the pyramid?
After postponing Euro 2020 on Tuesday, UEFA said it wanted all domestic and European club competitions finished by
Jamie Carragher would do on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football. TV companies are also making contingency plans so their highly paid pundits can still contribute content in the event of a Government lockdown.
Between them, Sky and BT Sport pay out millions to a number of high-profile ex-players, including the likes of Jamie Carragher, Jamie Redknapp and Gary Neville and are keen to keep their star talent involved during the delay in competition.
One idea, already acted upon, has been to ask the Premier League if they could reach out to their clubs to ask them to provide much-needed content.
Sportsmail understands that a league-wide call was made on Tuesday by the competition following the crisis meetings.
Clubs were told that, with the season suspended until April 4 at the earliest, broadcasters are struggling. Sources who were in on the call say that the plea was met with a positive response by the clubs.
As a result, players are expected to be put up for interviews over the coming days, although self-isolation issues may prevent some clubs from getting involved much. The logistics behind any content remain complex due to some players in self-isolation. Therefore, interviews may well be carried out remotely.
‘We get that this is an incredibly difficult time for broadcasters,’ said one club official. ‘There is no getting away from the fact that they are our major source of income. They expect content and in the spirit of the contract, there was a willingness to help.’