Alan Shearer: Premier League stars MUST get a say in Project Restart if we cannot guarantee their safety

THERE are a million and one questions right now — and if they are not answered soon then I fear for football’s return.

The longer this goes on, the more difficult they all become to answer.

Brighton are not happy with Premier League proposalsCredit: Reuters

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I’m happy they are exploring every single avenue but I also understand it is going to be incredibly difficult to do it.

There has to be an end-point over the next two or three weeks regardless.

Just yesterday, Brighton chief Paul Barber confirmed a third player at the club had tested positive for coronavirus.

We also saw five Spanish players test positive yesterday, while the whole Dynamo Dresden team has been put into isolation in Germany just a week before the season is due to restart.

Everyone would love it if football could get back to normal but that’s not going to be the case for a long time.

What if some of the players don’t want to play?

Last week, Aston Villa boss Dean Smith revealed that one of his players is asthmatic while another has a vulnerable mother-in-law living with the family.

The fundamental question in all of this is: Will the players be safe?

Premier League clubs have agreed to play at eight neutral venues if the Government agrees football can restart

It seems impossible to guarantee this, so if they don’t want to then you can’t force them to train or play.

Everyone has different family situations so if they are worried about their circumstances then you have to accept that.

With the Premier League meeting today, it’s vitally important that the players are included in the decision-making all the way through.

But there are just so many difficult questions. What happens if two or three players test positive in the football club?

I know a lot of them are back in some sort of training now.

But there are a number of different steps that have to be taken before we get close to playing again.

If the first stage goes all right then you’ve got to start the players training together again.

Then you’ve got to have contact and if there are no major downfalls then you may start looking at playing.

The problem is, you cannot provide answers at the minute because you’ve got to see how those stages go.

I get the neutral venue argument, but I also understand that some clubs believe it is taking away a small advantage they might have.

Whatever decision they come to, some clubs, players and chairmen are not going to be happy.

And that’s why today, and future meetings, are so important.

I’m pretty certain we’re going to lose some clubs, whether we start up football again or not.

The Premier League might be able to operate for a while without fans but the Championship, Leagues One and Two won’t be able to do that.

It’s just a minefield in terms of potential legal battles across all sorts of areas, including liability and player contracts.

Some EFL clubs could struggle to surviveCredit: Getty Images – Getty

I think the situation will change day to day but these questions have to be answered over the next two or three weeks if we hope to get the show back on the road soon.

A lot is going to depend on the reaction of the players.

And while I still hold out hope that football will return, the problems continue to stack higher and higher.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk