Important statements by the president of a Premier
League club revealed the expected loss in the
event of failure to complete the football season,
in the same context announced by the President of
the First Division League in Spain.
Crystal Palace President, Steve Parish, announced
that the Premier League clubs are losing huge
amounts of money and their financial situation will
reach “the unknown” if the interrupted season due
to the Coronavirus pandemic is not completed.
The league has been stalled since mid-March due
to the outbreak of the virus, which has killed more
than 28,000 people in the United Kingdom,
and the date for the tournament’s resumption has
not been decided after all of the league’s clubs
meet on Friday.
The losses forced some clubs to grant their
employees compulsory holidays without pay,
while other clubs agreed to reduce the salaries
of their players.
Parrish said he was convinced that plans to resume
the tournament would provide safety for players,
staff, and referees and that the poor financial
condition of clubs in the country could not be
ignored when deciding on the completion of
the season.
“We must all care about the money,” Palas
president wrote in the Sunday Times. “I will tell
you why. Because no one will win if the League
gets less money.”
“We face losses that no one can afford. If we don’t
complete the season, we will reach the unknown.”
“Football is one of the most tax-generating
industries in Britain … We all pay about 3.3 billion
pounds (4.13 billion dollars) in taxes every year
and the Premier League finances the football
sector,” he added.
In Spain, “La Liga” Javier Tepas, president of
the first division, said that the losses from
the failure to complete the season will reach about
one billion euros and that football is an “economic
engine” that must be restarted.
Parrish indicated that he agreed with TEPAS
and that it was time to determine the possibility
of resuming the season, even if it was by playing
matches in neutral stadiums, without fans.
“Football is another industry that is looking at ways
to get back to work … but we are trying to do that
and when that happens, football will not be
the same again,” Barrish added.
“As Tipas said if the important economic sectors
are no longer working in a safe environment,
they could eventually disappear,” he said.
“This could happen to football at a professional
level.”
