Premier League Project Restart: '15 fit players' enough for teams to play on amid coronavirus concerns
Premier League teams who could be affected by positive coronavirus tests will still have to play on as long as they have 15 fit players, according to West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady.
The 2019/20 Premier League season is provisionally due to restart on June 17 following lengthy talks between clubs, the League and government.
Players and staff from all 20 top-flight clubs are being tested twice a week, with those who test positive for Covid-19 then self-isolating as training ramps up ahead of football's return.
There are many issues yet to be ironed out before the season restarts, and Brady has expressed concerns that the integrity of results could be impacted if players or key staff are unavailable due to Covid-19, or managers name weakened teams given they will likely be playing twice a week after almost three months out of action.
Writing about the latest Premier League shareholders' meeting in her column for The Sun, Brady said: "There are obvious and genuine concerns about what happens to your match results if your club has a number of players testing positive for coronavirus, or in self-isolation.
"And as a result you simply cannot field your usual or strongest starting XI. Or what if other teams play a weakened first XI by choice when they have nothing to play for, or they want to give their first-team players a longer break.
"Or they simply want to protect players from catching the virus, and that ends up skewing results? Or what if your manager tests positive, as Arsenal’s did back in March?
"That was before anyone had died, and it still brought the season to a halt — and sadly since then more than 37,000 people have died.
"Well, as long as you have 15 fit players (including one goalkeeper) made up from either your 25-man squad list or from your Under-21’s you will be deemed to have a team fit enough to fulfil the fixture.
"I guess that puts an end to the suggestion of having five subs, because if only 15 are needed you can’t have five subs!"
Should the situation occur whereby a number of sides are unable to name 15 players, or the government says games cannot restart, then Brady says a "straightforward" point-per-game formula would decide the season, with three teams to be relegated.
