PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALL matches could be shorter than the normal 45 minutes per half when football returns, Professional Footballers Association chief executive Gordon Taylor revealed today.
English top-flight clubs underlined their commitment to restarting the 2019-20 season on Friday, but said “it was agreed that the PFA, LMA, players and managers are key to this process and will be further consulted”.
Welfare and wellbeing of individuals returning to work is key and Taylor will pore over the plans as the Premier League looks to resume in mid-June.
“They’re not stupid,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “They will put safety first.
“There is a protocol being put together that is going to be presented, involving all medical experts and Government medical experts.
“There will be a meeting of the shareholders of the Premier League on Friday and then shortly after that the document of returning to work should be finalised and then in the following week, next week, as early as possible, that will be put to players and coaches.
“Then the practicality of all those issues and it will be looked at club by club.”
Put to Taylor that it would benefit some clubs if the Premier League did not finish and all matches were void, he said: “We’ll have to wait and see. I’m talking about a 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, what ideas have been put, the possibility of having more substitutes, games possibly not being the full 45 minutes each way.
“There’s talks of neutral stadiums. There’s been lots of things being put forward.
“Try and wait and see what the proposals are, and then have the courtesy to let the managers and coaches and players also assimilate all those and come to a considered view.”
Taylor does not expect matches to be played until the “middle of June” and Health Secretary Matt Hancock would welcome the Premier League’s return in the right way.
“Well, I’m absolutely open to that, and horse racing too,” he told the Today programme.
“I know that the both the Premier League and racing are working on how this might be doable in a safe way but that safety has to be paramount.”
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