Gordon Taylor: Matches might be shorter when football returns

"We don't know the future but we do know is what propositions have been put, what ideas have been put, the possibility of having more substitutes, games possibly not being the full 45 minutes each way with talks of neutral stadiums," Taylor said to BBC Radio 4 Today.

"Ideally, you want to keep the integrity of the competition, and of course, that was about playing home and away and having the same squad of players as before it was suspended.

"So there's lots of points to be made, but above all, can the seasons be completed and can they be completed safely?"

Pressed on the idea of game time being reduced, Taylor added:

Top-flight football has been suspended in England since Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was diagnosed with coronavirus ahead of his side's trip to Brighton on March 14. Leagues in France and the Netherlands have been cancelled for this season but there appears to be little pressure on the Premier League to follow suit.

The Premier League remains committed to completing the 2019-20 campaign when government restrictions allow it to do so, with a UEFA deadline of May 25 for restart plans looming. As things stand sixteen teams in the league have nine games remaining while four have 10 matches still to play, with plans already afoot to get the league restarted in June as part of Project Restart.

The basis of the plans for Project Restart were set out in the Daily Mirror. They are:

The police are said to be keen for matches to be played at neutral venues in order to stop fans from congregating outside stadia, as PSG supporters did when their Champions League last-16 tie against Borussia Dortmund was played with empty stands prior to the suspension of football.

It is said that grounds far away from heavily-populated urban areas, such as Manchester City's Etihad Stadium, West Ham United's London Stadium and Brighton and Hove Albion's AmEx Stadium are being favoured, but even those clubs will not be able to play their matches at their own stadia. The FA's St George's Park national football centre and Wembley Stadium were both mooted as potential venues previously, but it is now reported that the grounds are likely to be home to Premier League clubs.

The government is said to be keen to get sport back on television in order to boost morale in the country and Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden is delighted that the plans are moving forward.