Premier League clubs meet over season restart without government guidance after Boris Johnson speech

The 20 clubs are meeting on Monday to discuss ‘Project Restart’

Premier League clubs are set to begin talks on Monday without any further government guidance after prime minister Boris Johnson failed to address professional sport in his “roadmap” out of lockdown on Sunday evening.

Football in the United Kingdom has been at a standstill for a number of weeks with all 20 top-flight clubs set to discuss plans over ‘Project Restart’ at a crunch meeting on Monday.

It is understood the use of neutral venues remains one of the key contentious points with the bottom six also anxious to have relegation taken off the table in the event the season cannot be completed.

The issue of player safety remains paramount too with Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero one of a number of players to speak out publicly about their trepidation around returning to the field.

The Premier League have insisted that any decision to return will be done in accordance with government advice and rescheduled the meeting, originally set for Friday, to allow for new information in Johnson’s latest speech to the nation.

But Johnson failed to address the professional game instead suggesting that sport would be allowed under the new measures but “only with members of your own households.”

“We want to encourage more and even unlimited amounts of outdoor exercise,” Johnson said on Sunday evening.

“You can sit in the sun in your local park, you can drive to other destinations, you can even play sports but only with members of your own households.”

The message would seem to rule out the prospect of football clubs going back to training anytime soon and does not improve the prospects of finishing seasons which were brought to a halt by the public health crisis.

However, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden tweeted: “In tentative steps & in the least risky outdoor environments, we can imminently allow some sports activity like golf, basketball, tennis, fishing – solo/in households. Guidance to follow.”

Football continues to grapple with the potential challenges of a return to action, with a third Brighton player and five LaLiga players testing positive for the virus.

Brighton’s chief executive Paul Barber said the unnamed player will go into 14-day isolation. It is understood the rest of the squad will continue to train both at home and in solo sessions at the club’s training ground.

Two other players, whose names have also not been revealed by the club, contracted the virus earlier in the pandemic. They are understood to have since recovered but it is not clear whether or not they have returned to training yet.

“Unfortunately we have had a third player test positive just yesterday,” he said. ”Despite all the measures we have all been taking over the last few weeks, when the players haven’t been involved in taking any significant training at all, we have still suffered another player testing positive for the virus.

“There are concerns and I think it is normal for all clubs to have those concerns. We want to make sure we do everything that we can to ensure that the protocols that are put into place are safe and secure and mitigate the risk.”

Earlier, La Liga confirmed five unnamed players have tested positive for coronavirus and will now go into quarantine.

A La Liga statement read: “After completing the medical tests on the minimum essential personnel referred by the clubs to start training, some cases of Covid-19 have been detected.

“Specifically, between the clubs of LaLiga Santander and La Liga SmartBank, five positive cases have been detected in players, all of them asymptomatic and in the final phase of the disease.”

Additional reporting by PA