Premier League handed permission to return

"We have to accept that and we would accept that", he said.

Manchester United look like they will complete the season at Old Trafford after all as Premier League clubs have united to oppose the neutral venue scheme proposed by the authorities.

The report claims that "a number of players across the league intend to use today's meetings to inform their bosses they would rather not return while the threat of the coronavirus remains prevalent", with Sergio Aguero and Danny Rose among the top players to have so far expressed concerns publicly.

In an address to the British public on Sunday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson had indicated any return to professional sport was unlikely soon.

"Until then, I'm not scared but reserved and thinking what the worst outcome could be".

"The government is saying we are bringing football back because it is going to boost the nation's morale". I've had friends whose grandma's passed away, I've had family members as well that have passed away.

"But then if you take the example of Dynamo Dresden, and their situation, what happens if we schedule our games in for four or five weeks and then players, as Brighton have had, contract the virus and a whole team has to go down and a whole team has to quarantine".

The UK is still in lockdown as a result of the pandemic, in which over 30,000 people have lost their lives to date.

"I don't give a f*** about the nation's morale". Football shouldn't even be spoken about coming back until the numbers have dropped massively.

Amongst the driving factors for resuming the Premier League season are the huge financial implications of cancelling the current campaign, with the representative clubs set to owe significant amounts of money to broadcasters should the season be unable to be completed.

As reported by ESPN, the United Kingdom authorities had made it a condition of "Project Restart" that games are staged at neutral venues for safety reasons amid concerns supporters would defy social distancing regulations by travelling to stadiums while their team was in action.

The UK's national football policing lead, Deputy Chief Constable Mark Roberts, had previously stated resuming matches on a home-and-away basis would "present challenges" to the emergency services.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has come out against the idea of playing matches in the capital at this stage, with the city having been particularly badly hit by the pandemic.

The Premier League and other sports organizers will now be waiting to hear when the government will allow the resumption of group training by athletes, even as social distancing regulations are maintained in wider society.