EXCLUSIVE:UNBELIEVABLE LEAKED FOOTBALL / SEASONS OVER

Exclusive: Bristol Rovers launch investigation into voice recording leak after confidential EFL meeting


THREE CLUBS FROM EVERY DIVISION WILL BE PROMOTED

FOOTBALL WITH CROWDS NOT TILL JAN 2021

Thursday 29th April 2020


Bristol Live

The leak has upset senior players and management and circulated around other players.

Senior Bristol Rovers players and club management are understood to be furious after a voice note containing sensitive information regarding the future of the 2019/20 season was leaked to fans and rival players.

The 4mins 13secs recording, which Bristol Live has heard, is of Rovers winger Alex Rodman - the club’s PFA representative - outlining the main points from a recent meeting between the EFL, owners, fellow professionals and Gary Neville, who has been acting as a bridge between the PFA and league bosses.

The meetings are part of ongoing discussions between various EFL stakeholders to try and find a consensus as to how the 2019/20 should conclude with "player welfare" at the centre of all talks.



After first being placed in the players’ Whatsapp group to keep the squad in the loop in terms of developments surrounding the potential resumption of football, it is understood to have since been circulated around several other League clubs.

It’s unclear exactly how the information has got out, who has done it, why they have done so and if it was deliberate, but it will be a source of embarrassment to the club and the EFL.

Rovers have launched an internal investigation to try and establish the source of the leak.

In the message, Rodman details how the government announcement on May 7 regarding the next phase of the lockdown will help inform the EFL as to what happens next in the professional game.

A senior figure at the EFL is said to find it "optimistic" that the remaining matches of the 2019/20 season will re-start in June while games, when they do kick-off, are unlikely to be played in front of supporters until 2021, unless a vaccine can be found.

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It will require 66,000 tests for the season to be finished - although it’s unclear if this is just for League One, the EFL and/or the Premier League and below - and that these tests cannot take priority over any needed for NHS staff and keyworkers.

That seems an ambitious target, given the struggles the government has had with its testing policy, and with player welfare at the heart of discussions, provisions are also being made to end the campaign prematurely, scrap relegation and have three teams promoted from each league.

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he ending of contracts is a major point of discussion across football with June 30 the deadline and confusion as to what will happen if the season is continued beyond that date.

Clubs are not legally bound to extend contracts beyond that so, unless they are instructed otherwise, players will still become free agents on that date as the majority of EFL clubs can’t afford to do it.

Players are due severance pay if there are games in June, but should they then play beyond their contract expiring, into July, they would not received severance pay so would be playing for free.

In the voice recording, Rodman asks players to vote with a simple yes or no on whether they will be willing to play beyond June.

The EFL's publicly stated stance is that they are hoping to resume the campaign in June, whilst any decision over when fans will be allowed back into grounds will be subject to government guidelines.

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I have listened to tape recording / Sounds totally truthful

Although disgraceful that it has been 'leaked' in what was a presumed 'trustworthy' environment, the fact it came from Bristol Rovers is for the rest of the footballing fraternity of minor consequence, as it would surely have been leaked by someone with an agenda (legitimate or not) from another club soon enough

Football has few secrets these days and much of what comes out is both planned and deliberate

However, assuming this is true, it will cause a few ructions in the corridors of the clubs that have a vested interest in either moving up to or down from any given League

How will they decide?

Toss of a coin?

French-style table?

Table 'as is'?

Average points/goals per game played to date?

Duckworth Lewis?

Whichever (and it may be none of the above) it is going to be a nightmare and the reason my own preference would be to see out the season no matter when that might be; behind closed doors or otherwise

There will never be a perfect solution to this saga but the one thing I am sure about is that love them or loathe them (I am 100% not a fan) Liverpool deserve the Premier League title, whilst some teams will deserve to ply their trade in the next League up and others to do so in the League below

No one is demeaning the Coronavirus peril that is currently a scourge on our planet but life (and sport) will go on and there will need to be a place to start that is fair ad equitable to all involved

The contracts issue was always going to be a problem .....

Some clubs won’t have a team

FB:


Dave Hunter:

Annis honestly think there’s too much going on for football to be played and it would amount to little more than a circus to take peoples minds of what’s going on

Listening to the clip he says that players who come to the end of a contract get a severance payment to protect them incase they do not find a new club.

Never heard of that before I wonder how much that is as per player it seems strange that they would get a payment like that

Expected really because with any sport they need medical team on the sideline for the players and they are currently working for the NHS saving lives. So sport should not rush back only because of money. Even Man City Sergio Aguero admits that players are too scared to work again on the pitch. So why dont this season in the EFL end as it stands. Only the first 2 teams so Leeds and West Brom get promoted and the bottom 2 teams go down so Aston Villa and Norwich. This is due to the play=offs not being played.

What if some players refuse to play? Would that be breach of contract? Or could it be argued that they were simply refusing to play in unsafe conditions?

At the moment there are simply too many imponderables to consider restarting football. If the intention is to complete this season then determine what happens to loanees and players out of contract post June 30th. Once that date has been taken off the table consider restarting in September or October with a proposed new season beginning in January 2021.

This will still leave a lot of clubs with much reduced squads as some players will retire, others will refuse to extend loans or ontracts. But at least they will have a couple of months to try and sort things out.

Expected really because with any sport they need medical team on the sideline for the players and they are currently working for the NHS saving lives. So sport should not rush back only because of money. Even Man City Sergio Aguero admits that players are too scared to work again on the pitch. So why dont this season in the EFL end as it stands. Only the first 2 teams so Leeds and West Brom get promoted and the bottom 2 teams go down so Aston Villa and Norwich. This is due to the play=offs not being played.

No way is that a fair outcome the season must either be played out or cancelled, no other solution is fair to all teams

If any game is abandoned with 3/4 of the game played the result still stands same should be for the season

Expected really because with any sport they need medical team on the sideline for the players and they are currently working for the NHS saving lives. So sport should not rush back only because of money. Even Man City Sergio Aguero admits that players are too scared to work again on the pitch. So why dont this season in the EFL end as it stands. Only the first 2 teams so Leeds and West Brom get promoted and the bottom 2 teams go down so Aston Villa and Norwich. This is due to the play=offs not being played.

No way is that a fair outcome the season must either be played out or cancelled, no other solution is fair to all teams

Totally agree, that simply can be the only outcome.

Simply too dangerous to continue with this season in any way. Either make a decision to make the season void or the current league positions to decide on titles; promotions and relegations.
As the latter will cause the majority of complaints, I'd choose the former and make the current season void.
In addition, this will avoid any gatherings of fans to celebrate promotions and cup wins etc which could prove lethal.
Sorry Leeds, West Brom, Liverpool fans etc but there has to be safety first.
No football to resume until a vaccine in place, which probably ends any hope of next season.

THE TIMES:

Football could be played behind closed doors for the entirety of next season.


No football fans at Cardiff City and Swansea City matches until 2021/22 season - shock plan now being considered

Supporters may be barred from stadiums until the 2021/22 season.

By Tom Coleman10:39,

Friday 1 May 2020

Sport

Football could be played behind closed doors for the entirety of next season.

According to The Times, the sport's authorities are considering plans that would initially see football go behind closed doors until at least Christmas, with suggestions the measures could last until May 2021.

The move would be as part of a continued effort to control the coronavirus pandemic, with thoughts the government's restrictions on mass gatherings could be tied to the availability of a widely available vaccine.

The measures would also apply to other sports, as well as music festivals.

Going behind closed doors would, of course, result in a huge drop-off in revenue for clubs, likely threatening the very existence of those in lower leagues.

Cardiff City chairman Mehmet Dalman has already warned the club will have to suffer "quite a lot of pain" on the back of the crisis, while Swansea City's first team squad, boss Steve Cooper and chairman Trevor Birch have all agreed to a 20 per cent wage deferral.

The Football Association are said to be looking into ways they can soften the blow for clubs should behind-closed-doors games be adopted heading into next season.

Part of the solution could be linked to a broadcast deal - be it with a broadcaster or using streaming platforms - where more or even all games are made available to watch with supporters paying a fee to tune in, as they would with match tickets.

Premier League clubs are set to meet today to discuss plans to finish the season, while discussions are ongoing in the EFL.

It's thought decisions on this season will be prioritised, though the FA are already looking ahead to next season and how the pandemic could impact the game for the extended future.

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