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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Freddie Keighley

Premier League's coronavirus restart stance is 'least-worst option' says club chief

Crystal Palace's chairman Steve Parish has labelled the Premier League's Project Restart plans to play matches at neutral venues "the least-worst option".

Parish also believes that those who are against the idea "aren't looking far enough down the road" and taking into account the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Premier League chiefs met last Friday to discuss how the season will finish, with clubs committed to completing the campaign and some social restrictions expected to be relaxed soon.

The English top-flight is reportedly aiming to return in the week commencing 8 June, with games potentially starting on Friday 12 June.

Parish (right) predicts matches will be played at neutral venues for part of next season (REUTERS)

Parish, who supports the plans to resume the season, maintains that his stance would be the same if Crystal Palace - currently 11th in the table - were in the drop zone.

"I said this in the meeting and I honestly believe that I would be saying the same thing," Parish told Sky Sports on Tuesday.

"I do fear that people aren't looking far enough down the road and seeing the consequences of us not playing. I think the best way to resolve that is to do so competitively.

General view of Selhurst Park (PA)

"It's the least-worst option. That's the territory we're in with life at the moment."

Parish also believes neutral grounds will not just be a feature of the remaining games of the current season, but also be used in the 2020-21 campaign.

He added: "Next season, in all likelihood, we'll start with neutral grounds, and I'm sure we'd like to get back into our stadiums as soon as possible. There will be a distortion of the competition that way around.

"All the pitches are pretty much the same size, and an empty stadium is an empty stadium. I think it'll be a level playing field from when we start.

"As with any season, there will be bumps and idiosyncrasies... you can have injuries during the season and fixtures rescheduled, all sorts of things that can play against you during the season. Luck does play a part and I'm sure most clubs now will have a fully fit squad so there are swings and roundabouts."

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