SOUTHAMPTON CHIEF EXECUTIVE Martin Semmens insists everyone is hopeful of completing the Premier League season by the end of June, but stressed no one can be sure when the English football season will resume.
English football is currently suspended until 30 April due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the decision confirmed on Thursday after a meeting of the sport’s governing bodies.
No date for the Premier League or English Football League to resume is pencilled in, but one big issue is players who will be out of contract on 30 June.
It has added to growing speculation everything will be done to complete the 2019-20 season by that point.
Saints CEO Semmens told BBC Radio Solent: “We hope to get the league done by the end of June and that would be easier for everybody.
“As soon as you go past that date there are then those legal challenges and issues that we have to fulfil.
“But if we end up playing until the 15th of July and you had to extend a players contract by two weeks, I just don’t think when you look at all the challenges the country is facing right now, to try and convince a player to play two more weeks football and get paid very nicely to do it before he moves to a new club, I don’t believe that will be a substantial challenge.
“The challenge is making sure we don’t have a knock-on effect into other seasons and make football compromised as the years go on.”
A number of discussions have taken place between Premier League clubs since top-flight football was stopped ahead of the weekend of 14-16 March.
While this week British Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted he hoped the tide could be turned against Covid-19 within 12 weeks, there can be no guarantee, but Semmens explained why parliament want sport to return.
He noted “at the right time and when everybody was safe” the Premier League suspension could be lifted – assuming football does not use up urgent NHS or police resources.
“When that moment has passed, the government would like us to get back to playing and they would like us to get back to playing because we are in entertainment and we would be a sign that the country is coming back to normal,” Semmens added.