FOOTBALL | CORONAVIRUS
FA chief Greg Clarke fears the season will not finish
exclusive
Matt Lawton,
Martyn Ziegler
Saturday March 14 2020, 12.01am, The Times
The FA chairman Greg Clarke has told the Premier League that he does not think the domestic football season will be completed, sparking fears of huge financial repercussions for the clubs.
Clarke attended the emergency Premier League meeting in London yesterday, which concluded by suspending the Premier League, EFL, the FA Women’s Super League and the Women’s Championship until April 3 in response to a series of coronavirus cases across the game.
The risk to the top flight, and indeed to Uefa, of not completing the season is that it could jeopardise billions of pounds in TV money. For the Premier League alone, losses could amount to as much as £750 million.
One senior figure in broadcasting said: “The commercial reality for the Premier League and Uefa is that if they don’t complete their seasons then they are in breach of their broadcasting contracts.
“You would have broadcasters from all around the world saying, ‘In that case we are not paying for the season.’ For the Premier League alone you are talking around £3 billion income a year from overseas and domestic TV rights.
“There would also be financial implications if the competitions were squeezed, so fewer matches were played. Again, broadcasters have signed contracts for an agreed number of matches and so if those matches are not played then it could be argued that the contracts have been breached and compensation must be paid.”
At the Premier League meeting yesterday, it was Clarke who addressed the elephant in the room when he said that he did not think it was “feasible” the season would be completed. Government guidance has suggested that coronavirus will not peak until about mid-June. Clarke clearly thinks that a rise in coronavirus cases will simply make it impossible for clubs to honour their fixtures.
It is understood that Paul Barber, the Brighton & Hove Albion chief executive, responded by questioning the wisdom of suspending matches only until the start of next month if the situation is going escalate well into the summer.
Richard Masters, the Premier League chief executive, responded by saying that although he recognised the challenges ahead should the forecast prove correct, the temporary suspension would at least give them time to consider the potential consequences and debate the possible solutions. At present, Liverpool sit 25 points clear at the top of the Premier League table with nine games remaining.
Before news broke late last night that Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager, had tested positive for coronavirus, the Premier League had announced its intention to follow government advice by holding games as normal this weekend.
Many of the clubs, however, had already told Masters that they favoured a temporary suspension and in an email to clubs on Thursday night the Premier League, Masters stressed that “contractual commitments” needed to be taken into consideration.
Financially, the damage is likely to be widespread. The next few weeks will also prove costly to broadcasters such as Sky Sports and BT Sport, who depend on live sport. Insiders say the channels will have committed to production costs that will run into millions, and they will also be hit by a drop in advertising revenue and the likelihood of subscribers cancelling their contracts.
Premier League
Football