{"id":132333,"date":"2020-04-06T17:24:21","date_gmt":"2020-04-07T00:24:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=132333"},"modified":"2020-04-07T12:02:18","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T19:02:18","slug":"epl-could-restart-in-june-amid-threat-of-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/epl-could-restart-in-june-amid-threat-of-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"EPL Seeks June Restart As Players Face Backlash Over Pay Cut Refusal"},"content":{"rendered":"

The English Premier League could restart as early as June, but only under \u201cstrictly controlled conditions,\u201d with games being played behind closed doors.<\/p>\n

\"EPL\"
Wealthy EPL teams have been criticized for furloughing non-playing staff instead of forcing players to take a pay cut. (Image: Premier League)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Daily Mirror<\/em> reports that EPL chiefs met with government health officials and representatives of the league\u2019s 20 teams in a bid to hammer out an exit strategy from lockdown for England\u2019s soccer top tier.<\/a><\/p>\n

Officials reached a \u201ctentative agreement\u201d to proceed in June, provided the UK’s current measures to stem the spread of COVID-19 are successful.<\/p>\n

Amid news that the country\u2019s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was hospitalized Sunday with the coronavirus before being moved to intensive care on Monday, cases are expected to peak in Britain in the next two weeks. And it\u2019s the hoped that the growth in new cases will gradually decline into the warmer months.<\/p>\n

\u00a34.35 Billion in Broadcasting Rights<\/strong><\/h2>\n

That\u2019s what the EPL hopes too, and it\u2019s under significant pressure to finish the current season. Overseas media partners have paid a cumulative \u00a34.35 billion ($5.32 billion) for the broadcast rights to the 2019-22 seasons, and could potentially sue for vast sums if the league doesn\u2019t deliver its quota of games.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, European soccer\u2019s governing body, UEFA, has said that leagues that terminate their seasons early could forfeit lucrative Champions League and Europa League places.<\/p>\n

The sports betting sector in the UK was worth more than \u00a35 billion ($6.1 billion) in the fiscal year 2019, with the lion\u2019s share devoted to soccer.<\/p>\n

\n

According to one 2015 study, up to $1 billion is bet on each individual EPL game globally, including black markets. There are typically ten games per week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Last month, the UK soccer\u2019s governing body, the Football Association (FA), ruled<\/a> the season could be suspended \u201cindefinitely,\u201d paving the way for continuation into the summer. Under normal circumstances, all EPL games must be wrapped up by June 1 to make way for international matches.<\/p>\n

This is also the date that player contracts can expire. But with international tournaments bumped to next summer, the FA has temporarily scrapped the June 1 rule, and has permitted players to sign temporary contract extensions which will let them continue playing into the summer.<\/p>\n

Pay Cut Row<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Meanwhile, some of the wealthiest EPL clubs are under fire for furloughing non-playing staff, leaving them reliant on the UK\u2019s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Under the program, the government has pledged to pay 80 percent of wages up to \u00a32,500 ($3,060 USD) for staff who are placed on temporary leave by companies during the crisis<\/p>\n

But many believe that it\u2019s the EPL\u2019s excessively remunerated soccer stars who should be taking the pay cut to shoulder the economic burden on non-playing staff.<\/p>\n

The teams have suggested all EPL players accept a 30 percent wage slash during the crisis. But this was rejected by the players union over the weekend.<\/p>\n

\n

The Professional Footballers\u2019 Association (PFA) said the proposal would be \u201cdetrimental\u201d to the publicly funded National Health Service (NHS) because it would result in losses over \u00a3200 million ($245 million USD) in income taxes for the government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The situation is rapidly turning into a PR disaster for the EPL. That\u2019s in contrast to Spain\u2019s equally high-profile La Liga, whose stars have readily agreed to a 70 percent pay cut.<\/p>\n

Julian Knight, the chair of the UK government\u2019s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, said it exposed “the crazy economics in English football and the moral vacuum at its centre.”<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The English Premier League could restart as early as June, but only under \u201cstrictly controlled conditions,\u201d with games being played behind closed doors. The Daily Mirror reports that EPL chiefs met with government health officials and representatives of the league\u2019s 20 teams in a bid to hammer out an exit strategy from lockdown for England\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":132334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEPL Could Restart in June Amid Threat of Lawsuits<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"English Premier League chiefs hope to finish the 2019-20 EPL season in June, fearing lawsuits from broadcast partners, as players reject pay cut proposal.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EPL Could Restart in June Amid Threat of Lawsuits\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"English Premier League chiefs hope to finish the 2019-20 EPL season in June, fearing lawsuits from broadcast partners, as players reject pay cut proposal.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/epl-could-restart-in-june-amid-threat-of-lawsuit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-07T00:24:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-04-07T19:02:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/prem.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/epl-could-restart-in-june-amid-threat-of-lawsuit\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/epl-could-restart-in-june-amid-threat-of-lawsuit\/\",\"name\":\"EPL Could Restart in June Amid Threat of Lawsuits\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/epl-could-restart-in-june-amid-threat-of-lawsuit\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/epl-could-restart-in-june-amid-threat-of-lawsuit\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/prem.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-07T00:24:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-04-07T19:02:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"English Premier League chiefs hope to finish the 2019-20 EPL season in June, fearing lawsuits from broadcast partners, as players reject pay cut proposal.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/epl-could-restart-in-june-amid-threat-of-lawsuit\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/epl-could-restart-in-june-amid-threat-of-lawsuit\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/epl-could-restart-in-june-amid-threat-of-lawsuit\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/prem.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/prem.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Wealthy EPL teams have been criticized for furloughing non-paying staff instead of forcing players to take a pay cut. 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