Games to be played behind closed doors per the Times...

If not

Games to be played behind closed doors as part of coronavirus crisis plan


All football matches in England will be played behind closed doors under government plans to combat coronavirus that could be triggered as early as today.


A meeting of the government’s Cobra committee this morning is expected to move its response to the pandemic from the “contain” phase to the “delay” phase. That will result in a crisis plan being unveiled for football. The Times can reveal:


● The current season will not be postponed and instead matches in the Premier League and lower divisions will be moved behind closed doors;


● Premier League games will not be shown live in the 3pm slot on Saturday afternoons;


● Broadcasters will be permitted to screen more than one Premier League game during both the lunchtime and tea-time television slots on Saturday, and the scheduled slots on Sundays and Mondays; and


● Season-ticket holders and ticket holders for individual games at Football League clubs will be allowed to watch matches on iFollow streams.
 
Sporting integrity has been cited as a major factor in moving against the possibility of cancelling the season outright, although smaller clubs who are more reliant on gate receipts are worried about the financial implications of matches without ticket sales.


However, there are huge penalty clauses in the Premier League broadcasting contracts if the season was terminated rather than played to a conclusion. These would run into hundreds of millions of pounds for the Premier League and would most likely have to be passed onto the clubs, or alternatively would be clawed back by removing things such as parachute payments.
 
In other words as the Premier League sold itself around the world to, ironically, China for example it has to carry on.
 
I wonder if they will deliver my free pint and a Balti pie on match day as we watch the live stream from home? Seriously though spare a thought for match day staff, will they still get paid? For a club like ours that is really struggling to balance the books without transfer sale money this could be a disaster. Are we insured for something like this?
 
So it's going to be £30+ to stream a game, rather than the usual few quid? I can see why streaming the game at a lower price would be annoying for those who've already paid the full ticket price, but equally, nobody who wants to watch the game from home and hadn't already bought a ticket is now going to shell out the full price for a stream. So nobody wins.
 
"Are we insured for something like this? "

How on earth would anyone on this messageboard know this ?

No doubt it wont stop people guessing, and probably using it as a stick to beat the club with.
 
futureboy said:
So it's going to be £30+ to stream a game, rather than the usual few quid? I can see why streaming the game at a lower price would be annoying for those who've already paid the full ticket price, but equally, nobody who wants to watch the game from home and hadn't already bought a ticket is now going to shell out the full price for a stream. So nobody wins.
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Or those of us who have both a season ticket AND have paid for a seasons streaming pass. However looking at the bigger picture, whatever needs to be done needs to be done - I can live with being a few quid out of pocket.....
 
Zoophonic said:
Seriously would any season ticket holder ask for a pro rata refund? I won’t.
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The ST isn't a per game payment. It's for a full season of watching games live. Could be a case for a claim against the credit card provider as the purchase has not been fulfilled as advertised.
 
It'll be a test for some of our more 'fervent' critics of the walk-up and occasional fan if season ticket holders start asking for refunds.

The financial implications of doing so could be horrendous to a lot of clubs, just as much as the loss of matchday revenue from the fans buying food, beer etc in the ground.
 
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