Watford Joins the league of clubs against the neutral venue
Scott Duxbury who is the chairman and chief executive of Watford has disagreed with the English Premier League’s view of resuming and using neutral venues for the remaining games. He said it would compromise fairness and sporting integrity.
A meeting will be hold today Monday to discuss and place a vote on whether to use neutral venues or not and also the way they plan to do it. It is their votes that decide whether or not the plan to resume and play on neutral grounds will be adopted.
Watford recently joined the league of clubs opposing the movement, Brighton Albion and Aston Villa were the first clubs to disagree with the move. There are now three clubs who are not in agreement with the English Premier League proposal with some players also skeptical about resuming the league as they express fear.
According to the Watford chief executive and chairman he said: “I, of course, absolutely accept we cannot have supporters in the stadium.” He further said: “That goes without saying in the present situation. “However, we are now told we cannot play our remaining home games at Vicarage Road and the familiarity and advantage that brings.”
In his opinion he said it is against the backdrop of players who, having seen their lives turned upside down along with the rest of the world, will now act like nothing really happened which is not easy. Scott said he can’t imagine how the game of football will be with the current restrictions placed on ground, football is a contact sport and if the virus is transmitted through contact how can they ever enjoy football without physical contact.
He also said: “We have club medical staff working under conditions that no doctor or physio has ever experienced with guidelines that, in no small part, are based at this stage on supposition rather than scientific fact.”
“And with all these compromises and health risks we are asked to finish a competition that bears no resemblance to the one we started, which could end a small club like Watford’s time in the Premier League.” “So is this fair? Does it have any semblance of sporting integrity? Of course not,” He concluded.
Watford, Aston Villa and Brighton Albion are all against the neutral ground completion of the league. Many of English Premier League players are also advising the league management not resume because the German league is resuming.
The Germany Bundesliga will return on 16th of May and teams will use their own stadiums for their remaining fixtures, so Watford and the other two English teams are on the opinion that the English Premier League should do like-wise if they want to resume.
League Managers Association chief executive Richard Bevan has said the Premier League season could be cancelled if clubs do not agree to play at neutral venues. The English premier League has nine games left to play with Liverpool topping the league with over 20 points.