PREMIER LEAGUE strugglers Brighton and West Ham are against plans to restart the season inside neutral stadiums.
Both clubs are locked in a fierce relegation battle with the Hammers level on points with Bournemouth who occupy 18th spot.
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Brighton are against plans to finish the season in neutral stadiumsCredit: AFP or licensors
Graham Potters’ Brighton are two points above them but face a daunting run of fixtures when the campaign finally returns.
Their next six matches sees them face Arsenal, Leicester, Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City.
So it is no surprise that the Seagulls remain desperate to preserve their home advantage after chiefs drew up plans for clubs to use “eight to ten neutral stadiums” to finish the season behind closed doors.
Five of their last nine matches were also set to be played inside their home ground, the Amex.
And club chief executive Paul Barber insists they are behind plans to restart the season but feel they are at a disadvantage.
He told the club’s website: “We fully appreciate why playing behind closed doors is very likely to be a necessary compromise to play our remaining games while continuing to fully support the government’s efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus.
“But at this critical point in the season playing matches in neutral venues has, in our view, potential to have a material effect on the integrity of the competition.
“‘The disadvantages of us not playing the league’s top teams in our home stadium and in familiar surroundings, even with 27,000 Albion fans very unlikely to be present at the Amex, are very obvious.”
West Ham also agree that playing in neutral stadiums compromises the integrity of the competition.
Premier League clubs have agreed to play at eight neutral venues if the Government agrees football can restart
How the bottom of the Premier League table would look if previous seasons were finished nine games early
The grounds, all of which will be current Prem stadiums, will be confirmed in the next two weeks before a seven week festival of football.
Clubs confirmed their target of starting general training from May 18, with the first Prem fixtures now pencilled in for Friday, June 12 — but the fresh plan gives an extra week if there are complications.
It means matches MUST begin by June 19 — just under seven weeks away — or it will be impossible for the games to be completed before Uefa’s domestic league cut-off date of August 2.
West Ham are also against the Premier League plansCredit: Getty Images – Getty
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
