The issue of whether the Premier League season will be finished and, if so, when will become a little clearer today as representatives of all 20 clubs meet via conference call to discuss the possibilities. With Euro 2020 now moved back a year there may be time to finish this season, as well as the Europa League and Champions League, and David Conn reports this morning that there is a strong desire among the clubs to do so. Meanwhile, a meeting will also take place among League of Ireland clubs on these shores as they grapple with the altogether more serious issue of how they will get through this crisis without potentially going bankrupt. The 10 Premier Division sides alone face a defecit of anything up to €10 million and drastic cost-cutting will be needed to avoid disaster with one senior official telling Emmet Malone that there would be outstanding shortfall of around €1 million per month for the remaining seven months of the season.
On to rugby and Owen Doyle writes in his column this morning that it is time World Rugby and the Six Nations stood up to poor discipline and made an example of Eddie Jones for his recent comments about referee Ben O'Keefe. "It seems it's a case of if you upset World Rugby directly they'll be as heavy handed as they see fit. Bring the game into disrepute by threatening opponents and verbally attacking the referee, and, well, they'll look the other way," he writes. Meanwhile, Gerry Thornley is looking back 20 years to happier times as he speaks to Rob Henderson about that match in Paris in 2000 when Brian O'Driscoll announced himself on to the world stage with a hat-trick against France. Of all of his playing days memories, Henderson says that day was his favourite and not least because of the scenes that followed on the Champs-Élysées later that night.
Moving on and Sonia O'Sullivan is writing in her column this morning about how social distancing is quite familiar for long-distance runners but, even at that, these days are tough. Despite regularly spending hours on end running alone, she writes that it's the things like a simple trip to the coffee shop that will be hugely missed.
In GAA, Seán Moran writes that the governing body are waiting for more direction from the government before they potentially postponed Roscommon's trip to London, scheduled for May 2nd, after New York v Galway went that way yesterday.
Finally, Irish slalom canoer Hannah Craig speaks to Clíona Foley about her road to Olympic qualification and how she feels she will not get the chance to live out her dream this year with the Games potentially being called off.
