The Premier League gave the go-ahead yesterday for friendly matches to be played before the resumption of competition, but with restrictions. These preparation 'pins' will serve as a set-up for the return of the English league, scheduled for June 17. However, this decision will not drag the majority of domestic competitions in Europe. At least in Spain the decision has already been made. Before the doubts and suggestions of some clubs, LaLiga is clear that friendlies against other teams cannot be played before the championship restarts on June 10 with the pending 45 minutes of Rayo-Albacete.
In England have imposed several restrictions to be able to undertake the plan, such as the prohibition on teams moving more than an hour and a half from their city (Newcastle will have a special permit due to its geographical distance) and that players travel in their own cars and not in buses (something that will surely happen in two weeks in the official First and Second games in Spain).
In the Premier, matches may be played in stadiums or training camps, always without professional referees since they have not passed the tests yet. Also, changing rooms will not be used to avoid unnecessary contact between players. In Spain, some club had asked about the possibility of organizing friendlies, even if it was before its subsidiaries, but until now that option has also been ruled out for a simple reason: exhaustive controls are being carried out on the essential personnel of professional clubs and the employers believe that bringing people from outside these groups into the facilities could cause risks of contagion that would jeopardize restarting the competition. With all that that entails.