Even in the midst of a pandemic which should function as a uniting force, the deep inequality within Irish football poses a serious problem for the authorities.

The idea of getting all parties together to craft a plan which plots a roadmap towards a form of business as usual is complicated by the fact that the League of Ireland is packed with businesses that operate in very different ways.

A full-time club with players on 52-week contracts, and potentially lucrative European games at the end of July, is hardly on the same page as a team with part-time players that have no real incentive to rush back to action once Government schemes are in place.

Closed-doors matches would cost them more than the current scenario.

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But with doubts around the shelf-life of the wage subsidy scheme beyond June, the reality is that the clock is ticking on the beginning of another major crisis for Irish football.

Yes, the loss of a GAA championship summer is a headline-grabbing story because of the extent to which our national games dominate hearts and minds. However in the sports where players are doing it for a living, jobs are at stake.

Alarm

Government statements this week and the subsequent response of St Patrick's Athletic (the Dublin club have temporarily laid off their staff for three months) have caused alarm.

The missive about events with a capacity of more than 5,000 being off the agenda drew a confused response in certain quarters that sporting events below that threshold might be OK. The initial FAI statements weren't exactly on the ball either.

In saying that, Abbotstown applying a wait-and-see policy rather than making definitive calls on 2020 is sensible because contracts are a sensitive issue. They are also moving in tandem with UEFA who are understood to be miffed by winter leagues taking leaps that put pressure on neighbouring countries and, by extension, European football's governing body.

The FAI know they have to come off the fence eventually though, and the determination to urge clubs to think seriously about closed-doors football is interesting.

Officials are starting to wonder what is fuelling that conviction; is it just desperation in the face of an unexpected headache or is there a belief that pay-per-view streaming might open up TV and sponsorship opportunities at a time when the league is seeking a new title backer?

Do they believe that a rescue package from FIFA will be available to those countries who plough ahead and can demonstrate their lost income?

These are questions that are being asked privately, but the top brass have to tread carefully because one misstep could create a world of difficulty.

Hours can be wasted talking about calendars and start dates and other scenarios when the bottom line is that public health advice will decide all.

Leaving aside the economic implications of closed-doors games, and the attempts to make it viable, the practical aspect is the start point for any talks.

It is believed that testing players every three or four days is on the agenda. The cost of this would be considerable and the mechanisms to operate that system would have to be explored.

If every club's playing staff was fully professional, then perhaps it would be manageable but in the League of Ireland we have a hybrid of pros, part-timers and amateurs.

Granted, the majority of Premier players are full-time but some have other jobs in industries that may be operating by the summer.

This opens up the range of contacts they will have and the reality is that one Covid-19 positive shuts the whole thing down immediately. Insurance angles are a talking point too.

It has been acknowledged that a full analysis of the suitability of stadiums and training grounds will be necessary before people are allowed into them. A pandemic may succeed where licensing falls short.

Novelty

The idea of opening to restricted crowds sounds fine until you realise that in certain grounds hand-washing facilities are a novelty rather than the norm.

Years of neglect have caught up on us. With portions of decrepit stadiums closed off for health and safety reasons, there is no way that social distancing can be applied without laughably small crowd limits.

Players will tell you that quite a few dressing-rooms are cramped too. Perhaps ground-sharing will be forced upon clubs.

The intention here is not to be overly negative. But the head has to rule the heart in this equation.

It's prudent to explore avenues on behalf of those who don't just want sport back - they need it back. Yet we must be mindful that the search for a short-term gain could provoke longer-term pain.