Okay, so this Coronavirus thing is getting pretty serious. Italy, for example, is in a pretty precarious position. Hospitals are being overwhelmed in some parts of the country with patients not having access to the medical treatment they urgently require. The Government has now put the country in lockdown and Serie A has been suspended until April. In Spain, La Liga games will be played behind closed doors for at least 2 weeks. Meanwhile, Barcelona’s home Champions League tie with Napoli will also be played behind closed doors.
So what’s happening in the UK?
As of a few hours ago it is business as usual for British sporting events. According to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, “At this stage we’re not in the territory of cancelling or postponing events.” He went on, “I do want to emphasise in relation to sporting events, any talk of cancellation is very premature indeed. At the moment there is no evidence to suggest we should be doing that and we don’t have any plans to”, so far so good!
But, and without trying to be alarmist, things are likely to change rapidly with this Virus. Let’s look at some scenarios regarding what might unfold:
The Premier League being cancelled completely?
This is the opposition fans’ wet dream. The first thing to say here is, be careful what you wish for, if it comes to this then football will be the very least of our worries! In reality though, there is no chance of this happening, it would bring the Premier League into disrepute to just arbitrarily cancel an entire season. Even a suspension of games for a period of time would still leave plenty of time for Liverpool to get the maximum of 6 points needed to secure the title, and when it’s secured it’s secured.
Apparently the virus cannot live for very long in weather above 22 degrees Celsius, and it also dies quickly in the open air. That gives us April, warm May and perhaps an extension into sunny June to get it done. Opposition fans, seriously, give it up, this title is ours! Even if it was cancelled, everyone knows we are the rightful winners. Not happening though, really!
Will we have to win the title in an empty stadium?
According to the UK’S Deputy Chief Medical Officer speaking today, “The virus won’t survive very long outside, it will lose its viability to transmit disease, and so many outdoor events particularly are relatively safe.”
There is a real possibility that some games may be played behind closed doors, but certainly not yet. If Man City take 3 points or less from their next 2 games then Liverpool can wrap the League up with a win at Everton on Monday 16th of March. Plenty of time! If City take 6 points, then a win at Everton would leave us needing to beat Palace the following Saturday at a ‘packed’ Anfield. Hopefully!
Will they ban the trophy parade?
It has to be said that this is a real possibility, but I think, actually quite unlikely. It’s more likely that it would be postponed. Liverpool can hold the parade at any time so it’s almost certain to happen at some point. It is expected to happen on May 18th, there’ll be much warmer weather and a lot of time between then and now. We reckon this will go ahead as expected, and at the worst be postponed until later in the year/summer.
What about the trophy lift?
As it stands the plan is for the trophy to be lifted at Anfield after the last game of the season against Chelsea on May 17th. There are calls today for the trophy to be lifted at Liverpool’s first home game after the title is secured. This seems like an obvious thing to do, but don’t be surprised if the Premier League decide to wait. May 17th is over 2 months away and, again, the weather will be much better and a lot of water will have passed under the bridge. A good thing really, it gives Liverpool fans something to look forward to.
So, in summary, it’s all good fellow Reds! There’s no way the Premier League will cancel this season. There is so much money in the game now, they are more likely to cancel the Coronavirus.
#YNWA
