London: Good news for football fans. The Premier League (PL) season is set to restart June 17. The PL was suspended more than three months back due to the coronavirus pandemic, British media reported Thursday. No Premier League matches have been played since Leicester’s 4-0 win March 9, over Aston Villa.
Top-flight clubs voted unanimously in favour of a return to contact training Wednesday. They met again Thursday to discuss issues such as the restart date.
The BBC reported that the first two matches would be Aston Villa vs Sheffield United and Manchester City vs Arsenal. The matches are the two games in hand. A full fixture list would then be played on the weekend of June 19-21.
There was bad news to follow the good news also. Two Fulham players tested positive for coronavirus in the latest round of testing. The disclosure was made by the club Thursday.
Tests were carried out on 1,030 players and staff between Monday and Wednesday. Three individuals tested positive from two clubs.
“Those players or club staff who tested positive will now self-isolate in line with the guidelines. Only those who have tested negative will be permitted to enter training ground facilities,” the English Football League (EFL) said in a statement.
Second-tier Fulham announced two of their players had tested positive. “Both players, who shall remain unnamed due to medical confidentiality, are now self-isolating in line with league and government guidance,” the club said.
The small number of positive results is a further boost to the Championship’s restart plans. Votes on curtailing the League One and Two seasons are expected next week.
At PL level, four individuals from three clubs were found to be COVID-19 positive in the testing round conducted Monday and Tuesday. A total of 1,008 tests were carried out.
Agencies