In the aftermath of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the English Premier League season has been suspended indefinitely. With nine more league games remaining for most clubs, there has been plenty of debate as to how the season can be finished fairly.

One proposition is that the whole season should be completely written off and declared void, which is the conclusion that the Eredivisie (the Dutch top-flight league) has already decided upon. This would not only mean that next season can be started without delay and without too much rescheduling (which would be especially helpful considering that the Winter World Cup in Qatar in 2022 will already require plenty of reshuffling of league fixtures around the world), but also that there will be no major risks to public health from bringing masses of people together in packed stadiums to watch the end of the current season, if it were to be concluded at some point this Summer.

However, this would mean that current leaders Liverpool - who are currently 25 points clear of second-place Manchester City - would not be awarded the Premier League title that they almost certainly deserve, which would be their first in 30 years. There are also concerns about how promotion and relegation would work, as it would not be fair to relegate the current Premier League bottom three teams unless they have had a chance to fight for their survival, and nor would it be fair for the current leaders of the Championship to be denied promotion when they could have experienced monumental financial improvements from the TV money that the Premier League brings had the season not been suspended.

Therefore, in my opinion, I think the remaining games of the Premier League season should be played out in full whenever it is safe to do so, albeit behind closed doors in view of limiting the spread of the virus. There should also be a significant amount of time allocated for first-team training to resume before the season restarts seeing as many players will not have had a chance to fully keep fit during the lockdown, as well as reasonable gaps between matches for players to recover or else there will be a great risk of injury.

Even if it would be easier to simply get started with next season, we have to remember that next season means nothing at this point in time. It does not make any sense to prioritise a season that does not exist yet over a season in which 20 teams have been competing for points and striving to jump up the table since last August. Even if it means that some cup competitions in the next few years have to be reorganised or even cancelled, finishing the current season that has already started should be the most important thing.

By Oliver McCabe.