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'It would be very difficult to relegate somebody, particularly from the Premier League, if the season hasn't played out'
There is unlikely to be any relegation from the English Premier League if the season ends with no more play possible because of the coronavirus outbreak, Brighton and Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom has told British media.
Premier League clubs met on Friday to discuss possible models for finishing the season but all options remained hypothetical after the UK government extended lockdown restrictions for another three weeks.
Brighton were two points clear of the relegation zone with nine matches remaining when the league was brought to a halt on March 13.
If the season ended with no more play possible, Liverpool would claim the title and Norwich City, Aston Villa and Bournemouth would be for the drop.
Relegation means a financial hit somewhere in the region of $100 million and Bloom thought it unlikely that the required 70% of clubs would vote to send the three teams down.
"It would be very difficult to relegate somebody, particularly from the Premier League, if the season hasn't played out," Bloom said.
"You may get a title winner, obviously Liverpool deserve it, you may use that criteria for European qualification, but I do not see how anyone can vote for that, certainly the percent needed for teams to get relegated."
With some teams having more matches remaining than others, another proposal is that a club's final position be decided by the average number of points they have won per game.
Bloom thought that option even less likely to succeed.
"I don't foresee a situation, if the season's not played out, that teams will get relegated on a points-per-game basis," he said.
"I just don't think it's fathomable that a team which is not allowed to play out the season may lose out on 0.2 points based on this system, and also it does not take into account the strength of the team you have not played."
Brighton's Amex Stadium to serve as COVID-19 testing centre
Brighton & Hove Albion's Amex Stadium has been converted into a drive-through COVID-19 testing centre to assist the National Health Service (NHS) during the new coronavirus outbreak, the Premier League club said on Sunday.
Soccer in England has been suspended since March 13 because of the virus that has infected over 2.31 million people globally causing more than 158,000 deaths.
Several Premier League clubs have chipped in to help the NHS workers in United Kingdom, where more than 15,000 people have died due to the flu-like virus.
"The Amex will be the biggest testing site anywhere on the south coast, and will be used for self-testing and assisted testing," Brighton chief executive Paul Barber said in a statement.
The club said the initiative is part of the government's drive to increase testing for thousands of NHS staff and other key workers fighting to curb the spread of the virus.
"The centre was scheduled to see more than 50 NHS frontline workers on Saturday afternoon, and they will have the results of their tests within 48 hours," Barber added.
"Within a few days, the site should reach its capacity of up to 1,000 tests a day."
Tottenham Hotspur have also installed medical equipment in their new stadium to operate drive-through COVID-19 testing and swabbing for NHS staff and their families.
Manchester United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea are among other clubs actively involved in helping the NHS staff.
Premier League footballers have also launched a fund to raise money for NHS charities.
