This archive report was first published on 9 May 2020.
On May 9, 2020, the English top-flight club Watford became the latest to voice opposition to the Premier League's 'Project Restart' plan, which aims to complete the season at neutral venues.
Watford chairman Scott Duxbury is worried about the impact of a 'distorted nine-game mini-league' on his club, which is currently in 17th place and facing relegation.
While acknowledging that fans cannot attend matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Duxbury is unhappy with the proposal to play at neutral venues, which he believes would deny Watford the 'familiarity and advantage' of playing at Vicarage Road.
“There is no altruism in the Premier League,” Duxbury wrote in The Times. “There are 20 different vested interests, which sometimes align but more often than not work purely to protect each individual club.”
He argued that some clubs are happy to sign up to 'Project Restart' because it would benefit them, but that Watford and other clubs are concerned about the 'devastating effects' of playing in a distorted mini-league.
“How can the long-term future of clubs be determined under these fundamentally changed conditions? How is there any semblance of fairness?” Duxbury asked.
He also questioned the fairness of playing matches when society is still facing restrictions due to the pandemic.
