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Which is fairer? Coronavirus implications

PLTuck

Eternal Optimist
Aug 22, 2006
15,855
32,965
I come from Hong Kong. Just don't underestimate this coronavirus. It would be disaster if they don't suspend the epl. Too easy to get infected if there is close contact (and unavoidable in the changing room!)

And for everyone in UK, remember to wash your hands. Wear mask if possible. Wearing mask is protecting yourself as well as protecting others surrounding you

Unless it is one of the sealed masks (which are in very short supply as it is I think), my understanding is that they won't protect you. It can still get in through the sides.

The surgical type masks will however protect others against you if you are infectious.
 

Meercat

Well-Known Member
Jul 4, 2008
1,119
6,292
It's a nightmare scenario -

If you annul the season what happens to the value of player contracts as teams will have had one year less viability out of them? If you annul the season you cost Leicester potentially 150m in potential CL money. But if you end the season now you relegate teams that might have survived given who they have left to play, and as such cost them the same sort of money and ruin their status, meaning they can't keep players on contract etc. Then you have the issues of Leeds not getting promoted, or WBA... the litigation around all of this will be massive, the money is far too big for any club to simply accept annulment.

If you suspend the season and look to continue in a couple of months - then players get no break at all into the new season and risk serious injury/exhaustion, plus it gives teams like us an unfair advantage in that players we've lost to injury will be fit to play again, etc - plus if the Euros go ahead top teams pushing for titles and survival lose key players for international duty...

The only really viable options are - play behind closed doors - but what if squads are decimated through the virus? Or cancel the Euros and play through the summer...

But the sheer economic impact on the UK with the cancellation of the tournament in terms of tourism is catastrophic.

So, you can bet they will go as long as possible to avoid making any sort of decision.
 

mpickard2087

Patient Zero
Jun 13, 2008
21,886
32,513
Option A, fuck Liverpool over.

This would be hilarious, we'd then admittedly have to put up with the poor persecuted Scouse victim routine over the summer, and knowing that lot they'd have such rage at everything from the FA and PL to the government, to the Chinese. Loud calls to boycott everything and conspiracy theories run wild. 'Justice for' T-shirts are printed. They would then inevitably end up on strike and get kicked out of the league.

The rest of football laughs and gets on with things free of this awful annoying football club.

Meanwhile BorisDome gets built over Merseyside as a drastic measure to reduce the incessant noise pollution.

So yeah, Option A.
 
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Gbspurs

Gatekeeper for debates, King of the plonkers
Jan 27, 2011
26,946
61,827
With The Euros surely the easiest thing to do is to start all European seasons a month earlier and then hold the Euros in a "mid season break" in the winter.
 

Archibald&Crooks

Aegina Expat
Admin
Feb 1, 2005
55,533
204,721
Anything that deprives Liverpool is good by me.

But as this gets worse a solution will obviously need to be found..........maybe suspend promotion/relegation, declare Liverpool champions and draw lots for the CL places. As for the Euros, they could maybe delay it a year?

As for next season, who knows when that will start.

Whatever 'solution' they come up with will be shitty for someone.

But that's probably pie in the sky bollocks
 

Everlasting Seconds

Well-Known Member
Jan 9, 2014
14,914
26,616
End domestic season early, standings are standings. Sucks, but not.
Reboot CL/EL next season as an exact copy from the group stage this season.
 

GutBucket

Well-Known Member
May 26, 2013
6,808
11,492
Not sure what's fairer, ending season the way it is is probably easiest but not really fair either since some teams had easier/harder scheadules, especially hitting those in relegation zone. Someone will have to choose the lesser evil.
 

PLTuck

Eternal Optimist
Aug 22, 2006
15,855
32,965
It does beg the question of what are the football authorities doing that they seemingly haven't got a contingency plan in place in the event of football seasons having to be cancelled half way through a season for any reason.
 

kaz Hirai

Well-Known Member
Nov 5, 2008
17,692
25,340
I imagine it will just be temporarily postponed, and maybe behind closed door matches for the remaining
 

Tucker

Shitehawk
Jul 15, 2013
31,132
146,027
I reckon the season will get postponed with games being played after the euros and the start of next season being pushed. This will end up somehow fitting in with the Qatar World Cup.

So option C.

That would make far too much sense, so no chance any of the powers that be will consider it for a moment. Delay the end of this season till September, then break until January and start a new season with the off season now being in the winter to fit in with the coming Qatar World Cup.

Fwiw I don't think it would be fair to the likes of Liverpool, Sheffield United, Leeds, WBA etc to void this seasons results. Neither would it be fair to the likes of Norwich and Villa to relegate them with games left to play. For me a suspension of games until things die down is the fairest option.

Obviously for us it would be better to cancel this season and start again. But that wouldn’t be fair on most of the other teams.
 

philll

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
9,110
31,702
For us obviously the first option is preferred but there would legal challenges from the likes of Liverpool (the title) and Leicester (CL spot). Behind closed doors makes no sense, fans will still congregate outside the grounds while the matches are being played which will completely defeat the object. Suspending for a couple of weeks to give Kane and Sonny the chance to get fit everybody a chance to catch their breath and re-assess could be an option but then what about the Euros? There would only be a few weeks between the end of the season and the start of that tournament as it is (even less in Italy, Serie A doesn't finish until May 24th).

I would expect the Euros to be cancelled, thinking about it. Think of the worst possible thing that could be going on in a pandemic - hundreds of thousands of fans flying across Europe multiple times before flying back to their home countries has to be pretty high on the list.
 

sebo_sek

Well-Known Member
Jun 2, 2005
6,023
5,168
The FIS Ski Jumping World Championship got cancelled today. Not anulled but stopped with Kraft winning the crystal ball and Stoch winning the Raw Air 2020. So fair has nothing to do with it. They will see the current standings as final.
 

thecook

Well-Known Member
Jan 17, 2009
5,576
10,965
Whatever happens Liverpool will be unbarable, so I vote to just let the virus destroy all of humanity now please
 

Yid-ol

Just-outside Edinburgh
Jan 16, 2006
31,097
19,276
Option A.


The UK government is considering banning sporting fixtures amid the coronavirus outbreak - but it will not happen immediately.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK will move to the "delay" phase of its plan to tackle the virus.

There have been 596 confirmed cases across the UK.

"We are considering banning major public events like sporting fixtures," said Johnson.

"The scientific advice is this has little effect on the spread - but it does place a burden on other public services."
 

Marty

Audere est farce
Mar 10, 2005
39,885
62,563
The FIS Ski Jumping World Championship got cancelled today. Not anulled but stopped with Kraft winning the crystal ball and Stoch winning the Raw Air 2020. So fair has nothing to do with it. They will see the current standings as final.
Individual sport is a bit different from team sport. A team currently in 18th but with remaining fixtures against all teams from 10th and below is probably more likely to stay up than a team in 17th who has all of the top six left to play.
 

Tucker

Shitehawk
Jul 15, 2013
31,132
146,027
Individual sport is a bit different from team sport. A team currently in 18th but with remaining fixtures against all teams from 10th and below is probably more likely to stay up than a team in 17th who has all of the top six left to play.

Plus there’s a hell of a lot more money at stake in football.
 
Jan 28, 2011
5,647
78,682
The only fair thing to do is to base the situation on precedent.

The only time a football season has been abandoned before was in 1939.

The team who were top did not win the title and there was no relegation. Consequently, the same should happen again.

Admittedly, the season was only three games old, but, hey, tough shit Scousers, them's the breaks.


One other interesting side note is that the abandonment of the season meant that the appearances made, and goals scored, by players in those three games were never counted in their overall individual totals either. If that happened again, it would mean that:

Kane is back behind Chivers in the all-time Spurs scoring charts

Ndombele, Lo Celso and Sessegnon have yet to make their debuts

And Levy will be consulting his lawyers to see whether he can claim back any bonuses he's paid out that are tied up with appearances, goals, clean sheets etc. Admittedly, it won't add up to much after the season we've had, but every little helps, eh Dan?
 

Johnny J

Not the Kiwi you need but the one you deserve
Aug 18, 2012
18,124
47,910
The Euros are very obviously going to be postponed until next year. The situation in Europe is going to get worse before it gets better and they'll need to make a decision soon. Same for the Olympics, they're blatantly not happening this summer.

As for the league, cancel it if needed, and award Liverpool the title if they win another two games, much as I will hate it. But don't relegate anyone who still has a mathematical chance of safety.

As for promoted teams from below, promote anyone who's mathematically certain of being in the top 2 when it's cancelled.
 

Johnny J

Not the Kiwi you need but the one you deserve
Aug 18, 2012
18,124
47,910
And Levy will be consulting his lawyers to see whether he can claim back any bonuses he's paid out that are tied up with appearances, goals, clean sheets etc. Admittedly, it won't add up to much after the season we've had, but every little helps, eh Dan?
Speaking as a lawyer, players will be entitled to their bonuses.
 

TheAmerican

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2012
6,909
18,760
Option B is obviously fairer, we are 3/4 of way through season, but don't think it will come to that.
In respect of relegation, maybe don't relegate anybody, and play with 22 next season.

However my view, League will get suspended, end of season pushed back to May, or even June/July with Euros getting cancelled till next summer.
And with that we introduce the issue with the transfer windows and player registration. What happens to contracts that are set to expire in June? What happens if a player is brought in, can they play?

No easy solutions here, but I don't think pushing the season back can be considered an option if it can't be finished in April/May.
 
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