PFA official Bobby Barnes has revealed that most of its members now accept that games must be played behind closed doors in order to complete the 2019/20 campaign.
Barnes is the deputy chief executive to the PFA and also sits on the board of international players’ union FIFPro and UEFA’s Strategic Council.
His team find themselves in an unprecedented situation after the EFL postponed the season due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The season was put back until April 30th but with the number of confirmed cases on the rise, this looks increasingly unlikely.
With health experts warning the Government that the illness could be with us for months to come, the suspension could be put back once again.
Speaking to The Athletic, he believes that the possibility of football matches taking place in empty stadiums will be the only way to get the season finished.
Will Forest achieve promotion to the Premier League this season?
Yes
No
“I’ve been speaking to players — including two or three very high-profile Premier League players more or less on a daily basis — and the conversations I had with them at the outset were based around not wanting to play behind closed doors if at all possible”, he said.
“I said to them, ‘Look, none of us, in an ideal world, want to play in front of empty stadiums. Football is about fans.
“But the reality is that for the vast majority of the players, particularly at the highest level, their income is funded by television money and there are contracts that have to be adhered to.”
This could have a dramatic effect on Nottingham Forest. Not only would the season be completed, but it revives our chances of being promoted to the Premier League for the first time in 21 years.
We are having a fantastic season and it would be cruel if all of our hard work was to be taken away from us due to no fault of our own.
In the meantime, discussions will continue to take place. On the flip side, we could have the likes of Samba Sow and Tiago Silva back to full fitness for the final run-in, putting us in a fantastic position to seal promotion.
