Premier League clubs have already outlined plans to null and void the 2020/21 season if the campaign cannot be completed.
A ‘tier 4’ national lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday, running until December 2, following a significant rise in coronavirus cases across the country.
While the Premier League is confident matches will continue to go ahead, with professional sport being exempt from quarantine rules that have been put in place, there is always the danger that the situation could change.
When the 2019/20 season was halted in March, significant questions were asked about whether the remainder of the season could go ahead and there was plenty of uncertainty due to the unprecedented situation.
In the end, Premier League clubs agreed to extend the end of the season and complete matches behind closed doors - but that may not occur this season.
BBC Sport reported last month that clubs were set to vote on the protocols in the event of a halt to the football calendar this season, which were initially agreed in August and would be written into the Premier League’s rules.
Another vote has been due to take place to decide how many matches need to be played in order for the campaign to be played to completion and not declared null and void, with the understanding that this figure would be around two-thirds to three-quarters of the campaign.
That would translate to between 25-28 matches needing to be played, significantly higher than the amount of games that have taken place so far in the 2020/21 season.
The 25th game week of the Premier League season in 2020/21 is set for the weekend of February 20, while the 28th game week occurs in mid-March.
This means that, should the season be halted due to coronavirus or for any other reason before February, there is a real risk that the season will be declared null and void.
