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Scrap EPL season and start anew if it can't be resumed: Luke Shaw

The English Premier League season must be scrapped and declared null and void if it cannot be restarted due to the coronavirus pandemic, Manchester United defender Luke Shaw has said.

The EPL confirmed last week that the season, originally suspended until April 30, will not resume at the beginning of May and will only return when the situation stabilises.

League leaders Liverpool needed six points to seal the title, while European spots and relegation candidates were still unclear with nine games to go, raising questions about how they would be decided if the season does not resume.

"Scrap it and start again. Start it again, yeah," Shaw said during the Combat Corona fundraiser for Unicef, a Fifa 20 competition that was streamed on Twitch.

"It's got to be, you know. If we can't carry it on, it's got to be void."

Shaw was part of the event - that also had Gareth Bale, Paulo Dybala, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Jordan Pickford and Ruben Loftus-Cheek - which raised around £17,000 (S$30,000) through online donations.

Some EPL clubs had mulled finishing the season by playing games without spectators in attendance, but Shaw said that was not a view he endorsed as fans filling up stadiums was crucial.

"Fans are so important. You realise it even more (now)," Shaw, 24, added. "If you don't have fans, and you don't play in front of fans, it just doesn't feel right".

United were three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea before the season was suspended. - REUTERS

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