Adam2003 Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 2 hours ago, Tomaszk said: They're going to **** up football for the next three years to avoid opening a different can of worms. I have no doubt this will be the worst result for us because we're going to go down and have less time than normal to prepare for Championship life without Jack Grealish. They aren’t. They will void the season. They just can’t say it yet. Same as the IOC can’t say that they are cancelling the Olympics. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted March 19, 2020 Moderator Share Posted March 19, 2020 15 minutes ago, ender4 said: Isn’t that the same as the January transfer window? I guess it is in a way yes, but it becomes a third window in a season and unlike the January one it's the one where most contracts naturally end - very few players become free agents in January. It'd have the ability to be the deciding factor in this season for a number of clubs and because that would be based around contracts that were originally agreed to see out a full season I think the game's governing bodies could find themselves the subject of legal proceedings from clubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 25 minutes ago, Adam2003 said: They aren’t. They will void the season. They just can’t say it yet. Same as the IOC can’t say that they are cancelling the Olympics. Voiding opens everyone up to being sued, I think that's why they'll be desperate to avoid it. We could end up with some sort of international law to stop people suing each other off the back of this because so many businesses and people are going to get screwed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyblade Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Just now, Tomaszk said: Voiding opens everyone up to being sued, I think that's why they'll be desperate to avoid it. We could end up with some sort of international law to stop people suing each other off the back of this because so many businesses and people are going to get screwed. There's just no way this season can be completed while upholding the integrity of the competition. Just can't happen despite their best efforts. We'll let them come to this conclusion after reality sets in. The season's compromised, like an office with a confirmed corona patient. You wouldn't continue working at that office anymore just as u wouldn't continue a compromised season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbcuk Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 11 hours ago, brommy said: I think it will be played whenever it can. Even if it’s 2 games per week for 5 weeks in July or August followed by a very short break and preseason before starting a new season in the autumn. Nah all it takes is another player to get this virus and that whole squad is in isolation, can’t see the season finishing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdulaziz1 Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Hard to see this completed. But they can't announce anything until they can't do anything. Not sure if the PL have any insurance agreements in the contract with Sky. But anyway, legally the only way is to try their best to complete it. After 30 June nothing can happen. It's just the other alternatives which we're more worried about. Some ideas as playoffs.....etc But even then, that would put them in a much worse position legally. I can't pretend I know all regulations, but I think that the only way is to void the season. I'd be gutted if Villa were in Liverpool place, and would probably push it as much as I can to make Villa win it. I might also be liking the idea of voiding the season because of Villa. But in reality, it's the only possible solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 (edited) 10 hours ago, sidcow said: I assume professional football games even behind closed doors have to have at least one ambulance on standby to deal with serious injuries and get the player to hospital? So for the leagues to finish there will need to be 50 or 60 ambulances off the front line in a time of national medical emergency. No way that's going to be allowed to happen. That's right, the government has already said, that it will not provide police or medical cover for sport. If they did play games behind closed doors, what would stop people accumulating in numbers outside grounds, where parts of pitches can be overlooked too? if they try to hold games behind closed doors, there will also need to be regular tests done on players, officials, journalists and television staff, who would be at the game. Those tests are in short supply, shouldn't they be used on essential workers (such as doctors, nurses & carers) who are needed to treat those who are critically ill with the virus, rather than on footballers and others, who are engaged in protecting the "integrity" of football? Come to think of it, players and officials at football clubs, have already had lots of these tests carried out, when NHS staff are in self isolation and unable to treat patients because they or a member of their family, have shown symptoms, and tests are not available to establish whether or not they have the virus. Shouldn't football clubs or the private health companies make, or be forced to make, those tests available to these NHS staff, at this time of national crisis, along with the medical staff who are doing these tests? Edited March 20, 2020 by John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted March 20, 2020 Moderator Share Posted March 20, 2020 Another thing that occurred to me was sponsorship - if a club has signed a deal with a new sponsor or shirt manufacturer that's due to kick off on 1st July, do they just change the shirts for games after that? The previous sponsor would be talking about rights for the season, the new sponsor wouldd want their money - and ultimately clubs would be expected to pay one or the other sponsor off - it'd be chaos and another legal minefield. I can't see them being able to finish before 1st July and I can't see how they can finish afterwards. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 23 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said: Another thing that occurred to me was sponsorship - if a club has signed a deal with a new sponsor or shirt manufacturer that's due to kick off on 1st July, do they just change the shirts for games after that? The previous sponsor would be talking about rights for the season, the new sponsor wouldd want their money - and ultimately clubs would be expected to pay one or the other sponsor off - it'd be chaos and another legal minefield. I can't see them being able to finish before 1st July and I can't see how they can finish afterwards. Our new kits will be later than ever Won't reach the shops before Christmas... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Only option i see if they want to finish this season is cancelling/delaying next seasons until the following summer. But then again sky and bt will be suing the hell out of the PL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 10 hours ago, Tomaszk said: Voiding opens everyone up to being sued, I think that's why they'll be desperate to avoid it. We could end up with some sort of international law to stop people suing each other off the back of this because so many businesses and people are going to get screwed. I'd be surprised if there aren't Force Majeure clauses in most of these contracts. Whether this classes as a Force Majeure event is arguable I would guess but maybe new legislation could dictate it is. This could open major issues outside of football so would have to be weighed up significantly but maybe some legal boffin on here might know better as I work on business contracts as a finance person so I know a bit but my legal team obviously understand and look after that side of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaVilla Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 14 minutes ago, nick76 said: I'd be surprised if there aren't Force Majeure clauses in most of these contracts. Whether this classes as a Force Majeure event is arguable I would guess but maybe new legislation could dictate it is. This could open major issues outside of football so would have to be weighed up significantly but maybe some legal boffin on here might know better as I work on business contracts as a finance person so I know a bit but my legal team obviously understand and look after that side of it. Act of God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NulliSecundus Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 (edited) 22 minutes ago, nick76 said: I'd be surprised if there aren't Force Majeure clauses in most of these contracts. Whether this classes as a Force Majeure event is arguable I would guess but maybe new legislation could dictate it is. This could open major issues outside of football so would have to be weighed up significantly but maybe some legal boffin on here might know better as I work on business contracts as a finance person so I know a bit but my legal team obviously understand and look after that side of it. A lot of Force Majeure definitions I see specifically include pandemics as a force majeure event so I would be surprised if they didn't either. To add to that, most FM Event clauses allow early termination but only after a set period (3/6 months is usually typical in the contracts I see) so we could see sponsorships etc end early, but not for another couple of months if we have no football. Regarding extensions of contracts etc, this will depend ultimately on what the parties agree (and, if our club has been proactive and got a replacement sponsor etc, they will also need to ensure it doesn't cut across anything that contract says). Edited March 20, 2020 by NulliSecundus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OxfordVillan Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 As things are developing, I don’t see anyone being able to sue anyone else should the season be declared void. What is happening falls very much under the umbrella of “act of god”. When governments are doing the things they are having to do then there really is no hope of suing for any perceived breach of contracts. Everyone is having to take a haircut. This is an unprecedented and unavoidable event. Football rules have long been in place, seasons to be completed by June 1st. That already seems to have been pushed back to June 30th. If the season cannot complete by then due to continuing government restrictions, nobody could reasonably argue that everything hasn’t been tried to complete. There are more reasonable legal actions waiting if they change long standing rules and timeframes to disadvantage any clubs going into a delayed and squeezed “next season”. I just think that the whole idea of massive legal actions if season gets voided might be being overstated 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villabromsgrove Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 If you consider the logistics of playing a Premier League football game then it becomes clear why this season can't be restarted at any time during the Coranavirus pandemic. Even playing behind closed doors is a non starter because it would breach government guidelines. A "behind closed doors game" would involve at least 100 people as a bare minimum. Players, coaches, ground staff, medical staff, a skeleton internal stadium staff, TV crews, radio and media reporters (they would have to be televised and reported on or there is no point). Transport and minimal security including police presence to control fans who would be tempted to turn up (with plenty of cans of booze) and congregate outside the stadium when "behind closed doors" games are being played. I've not covered everything by any means, but enough to demonstrate that these games will not be allowed to take place under present government advice. We can expect public gatherings to be banned, and pubs to be closed as mandatory measures in the very near future. I believe that the government might have had a quiet word with football bosses to ask them to continue to hold out the prospect of the season being restarted and completed, purely to try to keep public morale higher than it would otherwise be. There are millions of football fans in the UK who are currently hanging on to the hope that this pandemic is manageable enough if we are able to restart football by May. If the PL came out now and voided the season, it would be stark confirmation that we are all in deep shit, and the government wants to keep "a light on at the end of the tunnel" to avoid panic at this moment in time. In my opinion we are only two to three weeks away from the inevitable "voiding" announcement being made, at a time that suits both the government and the PL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punkiller1981 Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Not a like for like example by any means but English rugby has voided all leagues below the premiership. Still not clear what the premiership will do! Probably exactly the same but I guess the is a bit more money at stake so they might have to give a bit more thought to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brommy Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 12 hours ago, rbcuk said: Nah all it takes is another player to get this virus and that whole squad is in isolation, can’t see the season finishing Unless professional football is never played again, I think the push to complete the remaining fixtures is strong enough that even if the virus is declared no longer prevalent (through drastic reduction or an available vaccination) in one years time, the remaining fixtures will be played in April/May 2021. In other words, I think the season will be completed literally whenever they can, although for obvious Villa related reasons I hope I’m wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 4 hours ago, OutByEaster? said: Another thing that occurred to me was sponsorship - if a club has signed a deal with a new sponsor or shirt manufacturer that's due to kick off on 1st July, do they just change the shirts for games after that? The previous sponsor would be talking about rights for the season, the new sponsor wouldd want their money - and ultimately clubs would be expected to pay one or the other sponsor off - it'd be chaos and another legal minefield. I can't see them being able to finish before 1st July and I can't see how they can finish afterwards. Ive seen Liverpool fans debating whether they will lift the title with New Balance or nike shirts 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Just now, brommy said: Unless professional football is never played again, I think the push to complete the remaining fixtures is strong enough that even if the virus is declared no longer prevalent (through drastic reduction or an available vaccination) in one years time, the remaining fixtures will be played in April/May 2021. In other words, I think the season will be completed literally whenever they can, although for obvious Villa related reasons I hope I’m wrong. Be completely absurd if ask me, Bournemouth have 5 players out of contract on June 30. Can we then sign them to play for us As I said before BT and Sky would happily give up 10 rounds of a season with no title race for a full season of excitement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted March 20, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted March 20, 2020 13 hours ago, Tomaszk said: Voiding opens everyone up to being sued, I think that's why they'll be desperate to avoid it. Voiding would be the safest legally (in the absence of being able to complete) The dangerous thing legally would be some arbitrary decision to promote or relegate teams from an incomplete season. Headline on BBC website says social distancing may be needed for most of the year. No way are they going to be able to complete even behind closed doors. They will soon be worried about if they can properly run next season without worrying about completing this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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