Fourteen of the 20 Premier League clubs had to vote in favor of training to resume.
“The first step of the Return to Training protocol allows teams to train while maintaining social distances. Contact training is not yet allowed,” the Premier League said in a statement.
“This first phase was agreed in consultation with Premier League players, managers, club doctors, independent experts and the government.”
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s “Today” show last Monday, British legislator and secretary of culture Oliver Dowden said he did not expect the Premier League to return until “probably in mid-June soon.”
Dowden also outlined the possibility of the games being broadcast on free-to-air television in an attempt to prevent people from leaving the house to try and watch the games.
The UK “blackout” rule normally prevents at 15:00. kick-offs are shown on TV, which is designed to encourage people to attend stadiums rather than watching at home.
“Clearly this won’t be the case at the moment, so some of these slots may be available for free-to-air transmission, so we’re looking to see if we could do it as part of the larger transmission package,” Dowden said.
The BBC declined to comment on CNN.
Should the Premier League be given the go-ahead to resume, there may be an additional delay when players return to full game form.
Speaking to USWNT star Megan Rapinoe on his YouTube channel, Manchester City star Raheem Sterling said it could take “four or five weeks” for players to start playing again.
Financial black hole
“Much of this money has already been transferred from television companies to the Premier League, which then distributed it to clubs,” Maguire told CNN Sport.
“So the clubs will participate in this real pincer movement, in the sense that they will have to repay the money but they will have no money to get back.”
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