På Facebook skrives det hva Phil Hay svarte angående viruset i dagens Q&A:
Phil Hay has said that health must come first as the Coronavirus continues to spread and has an ever-growing impact on the sporting world.
La Liga games will become the latest to be played behind closed doors over the next two weeks. Serie A and Ligue 1 games have already fallen victim to restrictions because of the virus, with Italy going as far as suspending all sports.
So far, the UK has decided that football games can go ahead with fans present but that could change at any time.
Writing in a Q&A on the Athletic site on Tuesday, Hay was asked about what implications the Coronavirus would have on Leeds.
“As it stands, games are still open to the public but you can see the extent to which other countries are closing the doors for big sporting events,†Hay said.
“There are so many issues involved here so it’s massively complex. What are the implications for clubs who lose the income? What are the implications for season ticket holders who have already paid in advance? What would it be like winning trophies/promotion in front of empty stadiums? The one thing the authorities will desperately want to avoid is a complete postponement like they’re having in Italy. That would have major repercussions (but ultimately if public health requires drastic sanctions, drastic sanctions have to be taken).â€
Asked directly what would happen if the EFL suspended the 19/20 season Hay replied saying, “The million-dollar question. I’m watching the situation in Italy with interest. God knows how they’ll go about sorting that out. But in terms of protecting the health of the public, it has to be done and sport has to be secondary.â€
There are a few different scenarios that could play out.
Given what’s happening in Europe, with La Liga making the latest announcement to play games behind closed doors, you’d have to think it’s likely that similar measures will come into play in the UK before the end of the season.
If that does happen, the best case for Leeds is a financial loss, with fans missing out on watching their club finally getting promoted back to the top flight.
That would be cruel to Leeds fans but, as Hay said, public health has to come first.
The worst-case scenario is that things get much worse and the Championship is suspended.
God knows how that would end and it’s something we don’t even want to think about at the moment. Credit for this article to MOT