Will the Premier League be cancelled and when could the season return?

Premier League clubs will gather via conference call for a shareholders’ meeting on Friday morning

English football faces another defining day as the professional game prepares to consider an indefinite suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic, while pressure builds for players to accept wage cuts or deferrals.

Premier League clubs will gather via conference call for a shareholders’ meeting on Friday morning, where it is expected they will be briefed on discussions between the league, the English Football League and the players’ union, the Professional Footballers’ Association, concerning player wage cuts or deferrals to mitigate the financial impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.

So what should we expect?

When will the Premier League come back?

This remains the key question, both in the top flight and lower down the footballing pyramid.

The National League and all steps below have cancelled their seasons, but the 91 league clubs remain in limbo.

As things stand football is due to restart again on April 30, but with that highly unlikely to be possible consideration will be given to an indefinite suspension of the professional game in England rather than a fixed date.

Some, however, want more clarification on a comeback date so they can start making definitive plans over logistics and player fitness.

The majority of clubs are firmly against voiding the season with a commitment from across football to finish all seasons, whenever that may be.

A return behind closed doors remains firmly on the table with World Cup-style isolation camps an option being considered while the Uefa could push the conclusion of the Champions League and Europa League until after all domestic seasons have been completed.

The Premier League is suspended until at least 30 April (Getty)

Will players take pay cuts?

Clubs from the Premier League to League Two have already placed non-playing staff on furlough leave under the Government’s coronavirus job retention scheme which pays 80 per cent of an employee’s monthly salary up to a maximum of £2,500.

Pressure is mounting on the PFA from the Premier League and the EFL to agree to measures under which players make some form of sacrifice, with Tranmere chairman and former Football Association chief executive Mark Palios saying a collective agreement was “absolutely essential”.

What kind of pressure are they under to come to a decision?

The sport is also facing external pressure, with the chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee Julian Knight having written to Premier League chief executive Richard Masters calling for action on player wages.

Knight says that clubs which furlough non-playing staff but do not impose cuts on player wages should be subjected to a windfall tax if they do not change approach by next Tuesday, April 7.

“The purpose of the coronavirus job retention scheme is not to support the economics of Premier League clubs,” Knight wrote. ”Your organisation should be role modelling a responsible approach rather than tolerating divisive practices.

“European clubs, including Bayern Munich, Juventus and Barcelona, have shown that it is possible to reach an agreement with players whereby they agree to take pay reductions for a set period. I would like to request that the PL seek to broker an agreement between member clubs to change their approach.”

Sadiq Khan has also been critical of clubs’ lack of action (Getty)

Who has taken pay cuts so far?

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe and his Brighton counterpart Graham Potter have agreed to wage cuts in the last two days, along with other senior staff at those clubs.

Championship leaders Leeds have also seen players and staff take voluntary pay deferrals in order to save other staff jobs while La Liga giants Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have taken similar measures.

Why haven’t they done it already?

From the PFA’s side, its view is that it is representing the position of all of its members, many of whom do not earn vast sums of money and in some cases play for clubs where there has been a failure to pay wages for other reasons in the past.

It favours a consistent approach to deferrals and wants to ensure clubs are asking for them out of genuine need.

Can the FA step in?

The FA is due to announce steps it is preparing to take in due course. In a statement released on Thursday afternoon, the national governing body said: “We want to ensure that we take the appropriate course of action to support the wider organisation and our employees.”

Fifa have discussed the moving or suspension of transfer windows (AP)

What else is being discussed?

As well as cuts and deferrals, the issue of extending player contracts beyond June 30 is also being discussed, with the intention still being to complete the 2019-20 season in the summer months, behind closed doors if necessary.

Fifa and Uefa have set up working groups to look at this issue, with the general secretary of world players’ union Fifpro Jonas Baer-Hoffmann saying earlier this week that a “harmonisation” was being sought whereby contracts are extended until the point the season actually ends.

How much do the clubs stand to lose?

Premier League clubs will have observed developments in France this week, where a further national lockdown and a lack of clarity over when Ligue 1 action might resume has led to domestic rights holders Canal Plus and beIN SPORTS withholding payments until the postponed matches take place.

Over here a failure to complete any more matches would cost Premier League clubs around £750million in broadcast revenue alone.