Rio Ferdinand has called for the 2019-20 campaign to be voided if the coronavirus pandemic rages on, while insisting that Liverpool fans should put public health above their own ambitions for Premier League glory.
The Covid-19 outbreak has caused major disruptions to the sporting calendar across the globe, with all major European football leagues shutting up shop indefinitely as the fight to contain the spread of the illness continues.
This summer's European Championships and Copa America have already been pushed back a year, while the Champions League and Europa League have also been put on hiatus.
In England, the Premier League has been scheduled to resume on April 30, but it is not yet known for certain whether it will be safe for players and staff to resume duties on and off the pitch.
The enforced break has delayed Liverpool's coronation as champions, as Jurgen Klopp's men currently boast a 25-point lead in the top-flight standings with only nine fixtures remaining.
The Reds are six points away from a first league crown in 30 years, and although UEFA officials are eager to see the club football schedule reach its conclusion, there is a chance that an elusive piece of silverware may not arrive at Anfield this year.
It has been suggested that the season could be chalked off completely, a notion which Ferdinand is behind, with it his belief that such a radical decision would be in the best interests of society as a whole.
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The United legend told BT Sport: “Times like this do push it home how important sport, contact and communication is when you are isolated and alone with your immediate family.
“But we have to take into consideration football is just a game. As seriously as we all take it, the bigger picture is what is going on out in society.
“I’m sure in my own mind that if it’s not going to be an immediate fix in the next few weeks then the season needs to be voided and started again next season afresh.
“A lot of people like Liverpool fans will always say, ‘Oh that’s because you don’t want Liverpool to win the league’.
“Listen, if my team was in that situation I would think about people’s health and the wider society rather than my own gain.
“And this is a situation where I think exactly the same no matter who’s going to go up, who’s potentially going to go down, who could have won the league and who could have finished in the Champions League positions.
Ferdinand added on there being no way to ensure a satisfying outcome for all clubs across England as the battle against coronavirus continues: "I think across the board, it’s much more clearer, black and white, and just void the season and start again afresh.
“And there are going to be people disappointed, and there are going to be people that are probably more satisfied with that.
“But whichever way you go you’re going to be disappointing people and there’s going to be people that are more happy with the situation when you do it.
“So not everyone can win in this situation and that’s just a fact.”
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