Liverpool legend says Reds cannot just be handed Premier League title

Liverpool legend John Barnes has shared his thoughts on coronavirus suspension, Liverpool title and the reason why Premier League season must be completed. The Reds are on their way to win the Premier Legue title, leading the table with 8 points. However, the league has been suspended due to coronavirus outbreak. As the COVID-19 cases are increasing, the compeition is under threat to be postponed for a long term, which means Jurgen Klopp's side will wait for their league title even for months. And Barnes, who was part of the Reds last title-winning side in 1990, believes that the games must be played during the remainder of the 2019/20, no matter how long the postponement will take. He told Sky Sports: "You can't just give Liverpool the title. Who will get promoted, who will get relegated then? No, you can't just say 'We deserve the title because we're so far ahead.' What would Leeds and West Brom say? What would Fulham say if we promote those two? Whoever is in the bottom three of the Premier League, do they not get relegated and then the following season when we start again a team gets relegated? Safety is obviously the most important thing so I think the best thing to do is to allow this season to take as long as it does – there's no need to rush back as we're delaying the Euros until 2021. Even if you have to play one game a week from October which means managers complaining about playing so many games (will be ok). The end of this season goes on to maybe next January or February, then you have a pre-season, then you can kick-start at the right time rather than trying to cram games in and playing catch-up for years. Barnes' remarks came when UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin called "fake news" the talks that Liverpool could be handed the Premier League title without the season being completed, saying: "I can say that it’s not true. Our goal is to finish the leagues and we didn’t recommend anything like that to any association or any league."

Source: Liverpool Echo 

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