RIO FERDINAND reckons this season’s Premier League should be scrapped – and not because he wants to deny Liverpool the title.
The campaign is currently suspended until at least the end of April due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Rio Ferdinand believes the Premier League season should be axed because the coronavirus crisis is far more important than football
And former Manchester United legend Ferdinand, 41, believes football needs to be put into perspective while people are dying from Covid-19.
So far, the deadly bug has claimed the lives of 335 people in Britain but that figure is expected to continue to rise.
Speaking on his Instagram page, the ex-England man said: “I just think the Premier League should just be voided. Just void it.
“I know there are going to be a lot of Liverpool fans going, ‘Oh Rio, it’s just because you support Manchester United and it’s Liverpool.’
“It’s not that, it’s just that I don’t see a way that it can be done, where health isn’t compromised. Simple as that.
“All this behind closed doors business, you’re still going to have the players there. What, are the players not classed as part of society?”
The Premier League has been suspended until April 30 at the earliest as coronavirus continues to sweep across the nation with devastating consequences.
That postponement could and likely will be extended depending on government advice and the spread of the virus. We might not see Premier League action again until June depending on how bad the pandemic is.
At this point, clubs are determined to finish the season – whenever that may be – and allow European places, promotion and relegation spots to come to a natural conclusion.
Mikel Arteta and Callum Hudson-Odoi are among those involved in the Premier League to contract coronavirus – while staff and players from other clubs across the top flight have shown symptoms and self-isolated.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson stepped up the lockdown on Monday night and now footballers are preparing for another six weeks of training at home.
And as the risk of infection continues for many, Ferdinand is determined to see the needs and health of society prioritised in these “life and death situations”.
He added: “There are players who are going to go down lame from the illness, who might not have recovered or who will catch it from someone.
“Then it spreads to other players, so it won’t be fair, it’s not a level playing field, I just don’t feel it’s right.
“And there’s going to have to be people in that stadium to man the stadium – security, etcetera, as well in there, which puts everyone at risk.
“At this time, all this, ‘We’re gonna win this or so and so might not go down or so and so might not get promoted’ – you’ve got to put those type of things to one side.
This is about life and death situations, about society and the wider grand scheme of things. So, football, it ain’t that serious in that sense.
Rio Ferdinand
“This is about life and death situations, about society and the wider grand scheme of things. So, football, it ain’t that serious in that sense.
“Listen, we all love it. I love football, we all love it. But it ain’t life or death.
“When it comes to matters like these, you’ve got to put people’s health before anything and I just think that’s the way it should be.
“Start the season with a clean slate. Once this health situation is all ironed out, all sorted out, then we can start a new season, because I just don’t see it happening in that time.”
Writing in her SunSport column, West Ham chief Karren Brady also called for the season to be declared “null and void”.
But despite his old club sitting 25 points clear at the top of the table, ex-Liverpool man Joe Cole says the campaign must be written off if it is unable to be finished.
However, former Everton and Manchester United hero Wayne Rooney begrudgingly put his loyalties aside to admit Liverpool deserve to be crowned champions.
Writing in the Sunday Times, the Derby man said: “Now, as you can imagine, I have Everton fans phoning me up saying: ‘The season has to be cancelled!’
“And, of course, as an Evertonian and someone who played for Manchester United for 13 years, there’s a bit in me that thinks that would be good. But no. Liverpool have been fantastic. They have put so much work in. They deserve this title.
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“Can you imagine waiting 30 years and then having it taken away like this? The right decision has been made. The fair thing is to finish 2019/20 — even if we have to lose next season in the process.”
But Rooney was determined to stress that football pales into insignificance compared to the health of the general public.
He added that he does not want to play games behind closed doors if it meant essential resources – such as doctors, paramedics and ambulance – were being taken away from helping others in need.
Premier League stars kept apart until May 1 at earliest with lockdown lasting for at least SIX WEEKS
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
