THE Premier League reportedly risk breaching their £3billion TV contract if the season is not finished by the end of July.
The Daily Mail claim that England’s top division has signed deals with Sky Sports and BT Sport that commit to delivering a completed fixture programme by July 31.
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The Premier League has been suspended until April to deal with the ongoing coronavirus outbreakCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The report adds that a fresh contract for the next season then kicks off on August 1.
There are growing doubts that the Premier League will be able to be completed by that cut off.
The official stance is that it will resume from April 4, but even the most optimistic predict that will be moved back by at least a few weeks.
Clubs have nine or 10 fixtures remaining.
Both Sky and BT have already confirmed they have no plans to reduce their subscription fees despite viewers having no live-action to watch and won’t be offering refunds.
Yet the president of Europe’s major leagues told the broadcasting giants that they have to make financial sacrifices to help keep global football alive.
Lars-Christer Olsson said: “The priority should be to finish the current seasons.
“Otherwise you don’t know who is going to play in European club competitions next season.”
Olsson’s stance comes after West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady called for the Premier League season to be declared “null and void” if the Covid-19 outbreak continues to wreck sport.
The Swede — head of the European Leagues group which includes the Premier League, Bundesliga and LaLiga — made clear that league bosses believe completing the season must be the No 1 priority.
He added: “Some countries are saying that if you stop the competition in the middle you cannot have a winner and relegation and promotion.
“There may be a financial penalty if you do that as the number of matches is very important in media contracts.
“But if that does happen then everybody has to make their contribution to the situation, including rights holders.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
