English Premier League Gives Green Light to Full Contact Training

After months of suspension due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it now seems that the English Premier League has edged closer to a potential comeback in mid-June after clubs agreed on a key term stipulated by the so-called “Project Restart” plan.

Premier League clubs have now voted in favour of resuming contact training, meaning that tackling and man-marking will be allowed.

The division’s administrator’s released the following statement to clarify their stance on the matter:

"Premier League Shareholders today voted unanimously to resume contact training, marking another step towards restarting the Premier League season, when safe to do so. Squads are now able to train as a group and engage in tackling while minimising any unnecessary close contact."

Teams had previously been permitted to conduct individual sessions in the past few weeks.

Provisions have also been ramped up with regards to player, management and ground staff’s health and safety, as they must now be tested twice a week for the coronavirus.

As of today, eight people affiliated with Premier League clubs have so far tested positive for the disease.

The next official meeting between representatives from teams in the division will take place on Thursday, as there are still further issues that need to be resolved.

These include voting on whether neutral venues could be used to play out the 2019-20 campaign, but speculation has arisen that the regular home and away stadium format for fixtures could still be utilised.

Club’s medical teams will continue to monitor whether coronavirus infection rates spike once full contact training is resumed. If this is not the case, then all signs point to a mid-June restart.

Should the opposite scenario occur, meaning that the season cannot physically resume, then only a few viable ways to conclude the season remain.

These include rendering the season “null and void”, calculating the final positions based on mathematical algorithms, or simply ending the league with the current standings in place.

All of these potential outcomes could trigger legal challenges from clubs at both the top and bottom of the division, who would likely argue that they have been either wrongly stripped of honours or unfairly relegated, given the exceptional circumstances brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.