The proposal to extend the contract was first made in a video conference meeting attended by the club representatives and other Premier League stakeholders.
Manchester United's Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes (C) jumps to win a header during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in London on February 17, 2020. - Manchester United won the game 2-0. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)
The English Premier League announced that the top-flight clubs have been allowed to provide short-term contract extension to players whose deals were earlier set to expire on June 30.
The proposal to extend the contract was first made in a video conference meeting attended by the representatives of all the 20 clubs and other Premier League stakeholders earlier this week. The clubs had decided to extend their contract till the time the postponed season gets over.
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“At Monday’s shareholders’ meeting, Premier League clubs unanimously agreed to be allowed to enter into short-term contract extensions with players whose deals are due to expire on 30 June of this year,” read a statement released on Thursday.
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“As the UK Government indicated on Monday its willingness for live sport to return behind closed doors from June 1, the Premier League is exploring paths to resuming the 2019/20 season after this date.
“Clubs were concerned over expiring player contracts and registration issues posed by the potential of the 2019/20 season extending beyond June 30. So, it was agreed by all shareholders that clubs and players can mutually agree to extend their contracts beyond 30 June until the end of the season,” the statement added.
For example, players like Chelsea midfielder Willian and Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen will have their contracts end on June 30.
However, with the Premier League clubs receiving a boost to their hopes of completing the season on Monday, the fate of the out-of-contract players is likely to not bear any hardship.
The United Kingdom government gave the Premier League a green light to resume the 2019-20 season in June. After the government’s green light, the club representatives tried to chalk out a plan to resume the season in the same meeting.
The meeting on Monday saw the clubs discussing the plans laid under ‘Project Restart’ which was initiated with aims to see Premier League making a return by June.
According to a Sky Sports report, Premier League clubs can resume training on May 19 if the guidelines and protocols – laid by the league authorities under ‘Project Restart’ – are accepted by the footballers and the managers and get approved by the government and Public Health England.
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