If the MLS season resumes, games could be played behind closed doors with players possibly competing for slightly less wages, according to a few bits of theory dropped by league commissioner Don Garber in an interview on ESPN on Monday.
Garber told Taylor Twellman that the league is focused on completing as many games as it can. It had just finished its second round of 34 games when play was suspended March 12 because of COVID-19.
Should games continue, they would likely be in empty stadiums. He also floated playing games at neutral sites or in a tournament format in a shortened season.
MLS teams haven’t trained in more than a month. A moratorium through April 24 will be extended by at least two more weeks, Garber said.
The league issued this statement Tuesday:
“Major League Soccer continues to regularly evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including how it will affect our plans for the 2020 season. Although we hoped to return to play in mid-May, that is extremely unlikely based on the guidance of federal and local public health authorities. Our goal remains to play as many games as possible, and while we currently have enough dates to play the entire season, we recognize at this time that it may become difficult to do so. We continue to learn more every day from the medical experts, and we expect to have additional details in the coming weeks regarding when we can return to play. As we have throughout this process, we will update our fans with every decision, and we thank them for their support and understanding during this extremely challenging time.”
