‘Gary Neville spoke a lot of sense’ – Exclusive: Phillips blasts restart plan after Gov’t update
Kevin Phillips claimed there is a danger football is being ‘rushed back’ as Leeds United were offered promise by the government’s latest comments on a season restart.
The former England international, speaking exclusively to Football Insider correspondent Dylan Childs, insisted a June restart would be a “big burden” on players and saw a September restart as more realistic.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville insisted economic reasons are the driving force behind a mid-June restart and urged the governing authorities to weigh up the risk properly.
The Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, claimed to have been in touch with the Premier League and wanted a return “as soon as possible”.
This comes as the Netherlands and France this week cancelled their domestic seasons with COVID-19 still very active across Europe.
When asked by Football Insider if there was a danger that football was being rushed back in England, Phillips said: “There is a danger of rushing it back for entertainment and economic reasons. Gary Neville spoke a lot of sense as a club owner.
“We all want to see it back. It seems like ages since I went to a match and we are all craving football but we can only do it when it is safe.
“This virus is not going away any time soon so how they would manage it I do not know.
“I hear the head of FIFA wants to resume in September and as every day passes I am convinced that might be the route we will go down.
“I would like a June restart but I just cannot see it. It would be a big burden on the players because they have had such a long time off.”
UEFA have given European leagues until May 25 to provide their proposals for a season restart.
The EFL are discussing proposals for League One and League Two but any promotion plans for the Championship will have to be in line with the Premier League.
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