Mayor Sadiq Khan expresses concern over resumption of Premier League

London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has expressed concerns over plans to resume Premier League in June saying that June may be too early for the games to resume given the coronavirus pandemic that keeps spreading and killing hundreds people.

Discussions are still on-going on Premiere League’s ‘Project Restart’ with June 12 as the potential date for the season to resume following government’s announcement that games could be played indoors.

Lying at the center of the plan is the issue of using neutral venues for the games to ensure social distancing with Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium and West Ham’s London Stadium already proposed as the fit venues.

According to Saiq’s spokes person, “Sadiq is extremely keen for the Premier League and professional sport in general to resume.

“However, with the country still in the grips of this crisis, and hundreds of people dying every day, he believes that it is too early to be discussing the resumption of the Premier League and top-flight sport in the capital.”

The spokesperson also said that Sadiq wanted the premier League to return, but only when it is safe to do so.

“As a Liverpool fan, Sadiq of course wants the Premier League to return, but it can only happen when it is safe to do so, and it cannot place any extra burden on the NHS and emergency services.”
Sadiq similarly said apart from the issue of the match locations, there are other critical issues to be considered.

“Sadiq is also concerned about the welfare of players competing in all professional sports, not just football,” added the spokesperson.

Shadiq further stated that playing safely by ensuring there are no new cases of infections is central to the decision on Premier League’s resumption plan.

“There are huge questions to be asked how players could train safely, how they would travel to matches and how they could play competitive matches without the risk of spreading infection,” the spokesperson reiterated.