Garber: MLS likely to play behind closed doors if/when 2020 season resumes

If Major League Soccer matches are played in 2020, the fans will likely be forced to watch them on television. MLS commissioner Don Garber told ESPN’s Taylor Twellman on Monday that the league is exploring many different options and formats for the resumption of play, hopefully some time this year. He admitted that if games are played, they will likely be behind closed doors.

Nearly every professional soccer league around the world has been halted due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has altered so much of our daily lives and routines. With the majority of the United States still under stay-at-home orders, the resumption of MLS or any other pro sports league still seems a ways away.

Garber and MLS will have their eyes toward Europe where several of the top leagues are formulating plans to resume play, even as early as May. How their plans play out will likely have a big impact on when we see sports here in the U.S. again.

The commish told Twellman that when MLS does come back that we could see it return in many different ways. A tournament of some sort has apparently been floated as an idea, along with possible neutral site games.

“From tournament formats and neutral locations, ultimately playing an abridged regular season, but doing everything to get as many games,” Garber said.

No matter what format the league decides upon, it appears very unlikely that fans will be able to attend matches for a while. While, that’s to be expected under the circumstances, it’s a big step for Garber to publicly state this.

We all want to see soccer and sports in general return to our daily lives. It’s very possible we’ll have some form of it returning in the coming months, but a return to normalcy as far as in-person attendace at these events seems a very long ways off.

Which brings up this question. Do you want to see soccer return if fans aren’t allowed to attend? There are no right and wrong answers to this question. Arguments could be made for both sides of the coin.

Leave your comments down below with your thoughts on the subject.