Premier League matches could be less than 90 minutes upon return. The games could also feature more than 3 substitutes according to PFA Chief Gordon Taylor.
The Premier League has been exploring various options to launch a comeback following the halting of the season through the coronavirus pandemic. All the 20 clubs are currently in discussions over a return to action in June; with plans in place to begin full contact training by the end of May.
Also read: Australia offers to host rest of the Premier League season
Some of the suggestions to facilitate the resumption of the English season include, all matches taking place at eight-10 neutral venues across the country, and the remaining 92 top flight fixtures being shown on free-to-air television.
Premier League matches could be less than 90 minutes upon return
PFA Chief Gordon Taylor has now suggested that upon its return, the Premier League could feature 2 halves of less than 45 minutes each. Asked about the chances of the season being scrapped altogether he told BBC Radio 4:
“We’ll have to wait and see.
“I’m talking about protocol that’s coming out, I’m talking about the future.
“We don’t know the future, what we do know is what propositions have been put forward and ideas.
“More subs, games possibly not being full 45 minutes each way, neutral stadiums, there’s lots of things put forward.
“We’re trying to wait to see what proposals are and have the courtesy to let the managers and coaches and players assimilate all those and come to a considered view.”
PFA chief Gordon Taylor tells Garry Richardson on @BBCr4today just now that one idea being proposed for Project Restart is “games possibly not being the full 45 minutes each way”…!
And no matches until mid-June earliest pic.twitter.com/PqMrPYO6g6— Dan Roan (@danroan) May 5, 2020
In the same interview, Taylor spoke of the likelihood of football returning in the country by mid-June.
‘The very fact that you’re in a professional sport, you need to be very resilient and bounce back because you’ll get more setbacks,’ he said.
‘I like to think that’s how my members are. It remains in process and we will wait and see and take it on a day-by-day basis and see if it’s achievable but if we don’t try then it’s never going to be achievable.
‘If everything looks promising, you wouldn’t be thinking of matches being played until middle of June, I would estimate.’
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