BROADCASTERS will be able to show Premier League games live at 3pm on Saturdays for the rest of the season – after Uefa removed a ban.

The likes of Sky and BT will now televise the previously blacked-out weekend matches when the season resumes, possibly in July.

Clubs have always fought hard for the Saturday blackout because they feared it would hit attendances if everyone could just watch at home.

But with matches more than likely to go ahead behind closed doors, there was no bar restricting Uefa from lifting the ban.

As well as the top flight, FA Cup clashes can also be shown on the BBC and BT Sport, say The Times, and games involving the 72 EFL clubs could all be made available on the iFollow service.

With the Premier League set to lose £750million in TV money if the season is cancelled, it seems clear that this campaign will be concluded one way or another.

Scotland have also seen their ban lifted, meaning the likes of Celtic and Rangers can show their games at 3pm.

Many fans hope that by July, the coronavirus lockdown will have ended so matches can be seen in pubs, providing a huge boost to that struggling industry.

A Uefa statement read: “Taking into account the current exceptional circumstances, Uefa has lifted the ‘blocked hours’ protection granted to the Uefa Member Associations for England and Scotland for the remainder of the 2019/20 football season, following requests from the relevant National Associations as a result of measures taken in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Meanwhile, the Premier League has admitted it will only start playing games again when completely safe to do so.

The Premier League tweeted: "The Premier League’s overriding priority is to aid the health and wellbeing of the nation and our communities. The 2019/20 season will only return when it is safe and appropriate to do so."

The Premier League and EFL have both put off bringing football back in May, as originally planned.

But due to the financial implications and the likelihood that Uefa would expel any clubs whose leagues have cancelled their seasons from competing in next seasons Champions League and Europa League, football chiefs will now press ahead with getting games played in July.

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