London (AFP)

How to get the Premier League back on track after the forced shutdown by the coronavirus pandemic? English football authorities are expected to address the issue on Friday. A crucial subject especially for Liverpool, close to a coronation awaited for 30 years ...

The English Championship is officially suspended until April 30, but a resumption on that date, and even in May, seems unlikely given the health situation.

Here are the possible scenarios:

- Finish behind closed doors -

One option would be to play all the matches of the nine remaining days on neutral ground and without an audience.

This could allow to resume in June, to play all the remaining matches, and to finish before August.

According to the British press, one or two stadiums could be selected, in London or in the center of England, to host these matches.

As during a World Cup, club members would be quarantined in base camps, and would move to stadiums, hotels and training centers thoroughly disinfected.

What reassure players fearing to catch the Covid-19 by rubbing shoulders with other infected players, but also to respond to the criticisms that have emerged in society against celebrities, sportsmen or not, who have access to tests inaccessible to the general public, even for the most exposed workers.

Another advantage of playing on one or two fields: far fewer staff, especially medical, should be mobilized while the epidemic puts hospitals under great pressure.

But if the health situation gets worse by the summer, having doctors, even a few, available for football matches could prove to be an impossible task ...

- Expect -

Considering the enormous impact of the disease on society, resuming football too early risks making people cringe ethically.

This would mean not returning to the Premier League until the epidemic has been contained.

The peak of Covid-19 cases in the United Kingdom is predicted to be reached in June, extending the stoppage of the championship at least until August, or even September.

The season could thus be brought to an end, thus avoiding clubs to reimburse the broadcasting rights corresponding to the remaining posters, estimated at 750 million pounds (842 million euros).

Problem: it would largely encroach on the following season, probably forcing to lighten the calendar (with the resulting economic losses) to finish before June-July 2021, the date chosen to reschedule Euro-2020. What about the European Cups, whose qualified clubs could not be known until the end of 2020?

This is the problem raised by Harry Kane. "Playing in July or August and shifting to the next season, I don't really see the point," said the Tottenham forward.

"If the season is not finished at the end of June, we must consider all the options," he added, saying he was in favor of canceling the 2019-2020 season in this case.

- Cancel season -

The hardest scenario remains: to cancel this season altogether.

Some clubs are said to have stopped the championship now, arguing that there is "no room for the sport at present," according to The Athletic magazine.

The president of the English Federation (FA) has already told the League that in his opinion, the season could not be completed.

In addition to its cost, this option would nonetheless risk triggering legal action against sportingly cheated clubs.

In the event of a white season, Liverpool would lose the opportunity to conquer the first national title on the field in 30 years, while the Reds, largely in the lead, were on the verge of mathematically ensuring the title.

Ditto for the clubs of the lower divisions that a white season would deprive of a lucrative promotion, like Leeds and West Bromwich Albion, the first two of the Championship (D2).

If the current rankings are frozen and considered as the final rankings, it is the private clubs of European places and the relegates who will cry injustice. Like Manchester United (5th), thus deprived of the Champions League, or Tottenham (8th) and Arsenal (9th with one game less), outside European places.

Down below too, Bournemouth and Norwich would descend. Even worse for Aston Villa, 19th: the Birmingham club would be relegated with a late match ... against Watford, 17th and direct competitor for maintenance.

To try to see more clearly, it remains to wait for the meeting convened Wednesday by videoconference by UEFA, which must make a progress report on the work around the reprogramming of the European calendar. With a direct impact on the national championships ...

© 2020 AFP